Mm-^m. 


MISSIONARY  METHODS 
FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLB: 
REUidUSSDCiETItS 


BV  2090  .W45  1899 
Wells,  Amos  RT  1862-1933 

The  missionary  manual 


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T^ffOi 


BOOKS  BY  AMOS  R.  WELLS 

<^ 

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THE 


MISSIONARY   M^^^ 


iAH  1 8  1931 


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A     HANDBOOK    OF    METHODS     FC 

WORK  IN    YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   SOCIETIES 


0 


BY 

AMOS  R.KvELLS 

LUTHOR    OF    "  FRAYER-MEETING    METHODS,"    "  THE    JUNIOR 
MANUAL,"    ETC. 


boston  and  chicago 

United   Society   of   Christian   Endeavor 

1900 


Copyright,  1899, 

BY    THE 

United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor. 


All  Rights  Resemitd. 


F.  H.  GILSON  COMPANY 

FHINTERS  AND   BOOKBINDERS 

BOSTON,  U.  5.  A. 


PREFACE. 


No  set  of  workers  in  our  young  people's  societies 
is  so  eager  for  work  to  do,  or  so  enthusiastic  in  doing 
the  work,  as  our  missionary  committees.  These  en- 
ergetic laborers  have  long  needed  a  full  and  systematic 
manual  of  directions  and  suggestions,  such  as  this 
book  aims  to  be.  A  few  volumes  have  taken  up  this 
task  in  part  and  with  admirable  success,  but  none 
with  the  completeness  of  detail  or  anything  like  the 
fullness  that  I  have  attempted. 

Those  that  use  this  book  will  find  it  practical.  In- 
deed, at  least  half  of  the  plans  here  set  forth  have 
been  tried  and  proved  by  large  numbers  of  societies 
all  over  the  world. 

At  the  same  time,  however,  recognizing  the  value 
of  novelty  in  this  work  as  in  most  work,  I  have  made 
up  the  volume  to  a  very  large  extent  —  probably  half 
—  of  original  plans  which  have  not  before  been  pub- 
lished. I  trust  that  these  new  methods  will  be  found 
as  useful  as  the  old  have  been,  and  that  they  will  give 
fresh  life  to  thousands  of  missionary  meetings. 

The  book  has  been  written  with  the  one  purpose  of 
promoting  the  growth  of  the  Kingdom,  of  God.  May 
our  Saviour  use  it  to  that  end. 

AMOS  R.  WELLS. 
Boston,  June,  iSgg. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.    A  Missionary  Society 7 

II.    The  Missionary  Committee lo 

III.  Missionary  Meetings 14 

IV.  Missionary  Maps 41 

V.    Missionary  Music 45 

VI.     Missionary  Prayers 49 

VII.    Missionary  Reading 52 

VIII,    Missionary  Study  Classes 63 

IX.     Missionary  Letters 70 

X.    Missionary  Museums 74 

XI.    Missionary  Socials 77 

XII.    Missionary  Money 89 

XIII.  Relief  Work loi 

XIV.  Missions  in  the  Junior  Society       ....  104 
XV.    Union  Missionary  Work no 

XVI.    Missionary  Mass  Meetings 1x7 

XVII.  Missionary  Conferences        .      •    _•     •      •      -123 

XVIII.    Missions  in  Conventions 126 

XIX.  Missionary  Spurs     .........  130 


THE   MISSIONARY   MANUAL. 


CHAPTER   I. 
A    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY. 

It  was  a  Great  Dismal  Swamp. 

The  ground  was  oozy  underneath,  and  the  matted 
trees  shut  out  the  sky  from  above.  Through  the  tan- 
gled thickets  crept  poisonous  things,  and  the  only 
paths  were  beaten  down  by  savage  beasts.  Foul  birds 
of  prey  found  the  woods  full  of  carcasses.  The  air 
was  heavy  with  miasmas,  and  a  terrible  silence  was 
everywhere,  except  when  it  was  broken  by  a  scream 
that  was  worse  than  silence. 

Men  lived  in  this  swamp  —  men  and  women  and 
little  children.'  Though  one  can  hardly  say  they 
lived,  so  dreadful  were  their  lives  in  their  wretched 
hovels,  surrounded  with  the  terror  of  the  jungle,  and 
cruel  with  all  the  wildness  of  the  tigers  and  the  cobras. 

In  this  swamp  there  was  born,  one  happy  day,  a 
little  babe  who  grew  up  to  be  a  carpenter.  That  was 
what  the  people  called  him  —  the  Carpenter — though 
he  did  work  that  no  carpenter  ever  did  before.  For 
not  only  did  he  build  noble  homes  in  place  of  the 
filthy  huts,  but  he  taught  the  people  how  to  make 
drains  so  that  the  ground  became  sweet  and  firm. 
How  to  quarry  rock  to  lay  upon  this  firm  ground. 

7 


b  THE    MISSIONARY    MAXUAL. 

How  to  cut  roads  through  the  jungle  and  let  in  the 
blessed  sunlight  and  the  clean,  purifying  air.  How  to 
build  a  city  with  splendid  public  edifices  and  merry, 
peaceful  homes.  How  to  raise  the  lofty  cathedral  in 
the  midst  of  it  all. 

And  then  the  Carpenter  died  ;  but  as  he  died,  almost 
with  his  last  breath  he  said  to  the  weeping  men  around 
him:  "  Do  not  stop  here.  Go  ye  into  all  the  swamp 
and  redeem  it.     Go  ye.     Go." 

Then  for  a  few  years  they  obeyed  the  Carpenter's 
behest,  and  extended  the  borders  of  their  pleasant 
city  wonderfully.  But  before  long  they  began  to 
grow  lazy,  and  quite  too  well  satisfied  with  the  fair 
domain  already  won.  They  built  a  high  wall  over 
which  no  tiger  could  leap.  They  soon  forgot  that 
there  was  a  swamp  beyond,  and  the  Carpenter's  last 
words  passed  entirely  out  of  memory. 

But  the  miasma  was  there,  and  often  it  crept  over 
the  wall  and  stole  in  swift  desolation  among  the  mar- 
ble palaces.  And  the  tigers  were  there,  nor  could 
these  selfish  folks  quite  close  their  ears  to  the  screams 
of  the  tigers'  victims.  For  still  there  were  millions  of 
people  in  the  swamp,  and  still  it  extended  for  leagues 
beyond  the  city  of  the  Carpenter  —  an  ever-present 
threat  and  a  silent  accusation. 


The  story  is  a  sad  one,  because  it  is  true,  God  be 
praised  that  with  every  year  it  is  growing  less  true  ! 
God  be  praised  that  he  gives  us  young  people  some 
share  in  the  draining  of  the  swamp,  in  obeying  the 
blessed  Carpenter ! 


A    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY.  9 

This  is  to  be  the  motive  of  our  missionary  work  — 
simple  obedience.  "  Go  ye,"  Christ  has  said  ;  "  make 
disciples  of  all  nations."     And  it  is  our  life  to  obey. 

No  other  incentive  is  needed  to  make  every  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  society  a  missionary  society.  There 
is  no  need  of  the  addition  of  our  impelling  motto, 
"  For  Christ  and  the  Church."  There  is  no  need  to 
urge  that  missionary  work  will  increase  the  members' 
interest  in  the  society,  that  it  will  brighten  all  the 
prayer  meetings,  stimulate  the  singing,  vivify  the 
testimony,  make  the  prayers  vital ;  that  it  will  send  us 
all  wdth  new  zest  to  the  Bible ;  that  it  will  inculcate  a 
liking  for  the  best  reading,  make  us  more  liberal  in 
every  direction,  and  greatly  improve  the  discipline  of 
the  society  by  setting  all  its  members  to  work ;  that  it 
widens  immensely  the  intelligence,  putting  us  in  touch 
with  the  most  important  of  events,  with  the  most 
essential  history.  All  of  this  is  true,  and  all  of  it  adds 
to  the  argument  for  making  our  societies  missionary 
societies.  But  it  is  all  on  too  low  a  level  for  those 
that  have  taken  our  great  pledge  to  do  "whatever  He 
would  like  to  have  us  do." 

Thy  command  is  enough,  Lord  Jesus.  Thy  words 
are  the  way  of  joy,  and  we  will  follow  therein.  Thy 
kingdom  come,  and  Thy  will  be  done,  on  earth  as  it 
is  in  heaven.  For  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the 
power,  and  the  glory. 


lO  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  MISSIONARY  COMMITTEE. 

What  It  Is.  —  If  any  committee  in  the  society  should 
consist  of  enthusiasts,  it  is  this  committee.  If  any 
should  be  inventive  and  persistent,  courageous  and 
prayerful,  it  is  these  workers  for  the  advancement  of 
the  Kingdom.  They  should  not  be  mere  theorists. 
No  one  can  hope  to  get  others  interested  in  missions 
who  is  not  a  missionary  himself ;  who  is  not  ready, 
that  is,  to  go  anywhere  God  wants  him  to  go,  and 
do  whatever  God  wants  him  to  do,  to  win  souls  for 
Christ,  —  and  this  although  he  may  go  no  farther  than 
his  own  household,  or  the  family  next  door. 

The  committee  should  be  a  praying  committee.     It 
will  fail  if  it  does  not  remember  its  power  :  "  Lo,  I  am . 
with  you  alway." 

No  one  should  be  placed  upon  this  committee  for 
the  sake  of  converting  him  to  missions  ;  let  the  com- 
mittee do  that.  It  maybe  necessary  to  place  upon 
this  committee  a  few  of  the  workers  for  term  after 
term  ;  but  if  they  are  genuine  missionary  enthusiasts, 
the  society  will  gain  thereby.  Only— let  the  com- 
mittee never  forget  that  its  success,  and  its  only 
success,  lies  in  making  the  other  Endeavorers  as 
enthusiastic  as  the  committeemen  are  themselves. 

Definite  Aims.  —  The  mission  field  is  so  extensive 
that  no  committee  has  greater  need  of  definite  aims 


THE    MISSIONARY    COMMITTEE.  I  I 

than  the  missionary  committee.  Choose  these  goals 
early  in  the  term  of  office.  Be  specific  :  so  many  books 
to  be  read  by  each  member;  so  much  money  to  be 
given  ;  so  many  missionary  meetings  to  be  held  ;  so 
much  information  to  be  presented  and  mastered.  Do 
not  be  too  ambitious,  or  you  will  accomplish  noth- 
ing ;  but  anything  is  better  than  not  being  ambitious 
enough ! 

In  Every  Meeting.—  Seek  to  get  into  every  regular 
prayer  meeting  of  the  society  something  about  mis- 
sions. Nearly  every  topic  presented  to  our  Christian 
Endeavor  societies  has  its  missionary  aspect.  Appoint 
different  members  of  the  committee  in  turn  to  develop 
this  side  of  the  theme. 

The  Committee  Organized.  —  Subdivide  the  work  of 
the  committee  so  that  each  may  know  what  he  has 
to  do,  and  be  responsible  for  some  particular  task. 
One  may  be  the  secretary  ;  another  the  treasurer,  and 
have  charge,  not  only  of  the  collecting  of  money,  but 
of  the  Tenth  Legion,  and  of  other  spurs  to  increased 
benevolence.  Another  may  be  librarian,  unless  it 
seems  best  to  give  the  library  in  charge  of  some  En- 
deavorer  outside  the  committee.  At  any  rate,  he  will 
seek  to  promote  missionary  reading  and  study.  Still 
another  will  be  corresponding  secretary,  and  carry  on 
the  letter-writing.  The  relief  work  will  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  another,  the  missionary  meetings  in  the 
hands  of  another,  the  missionary  socials  will  be 
assigned  to  another,  the  work  in  newspaper  and 
magazine  clipping  to  another,  and  so  on.  Each 
committeeman  will  be  chairman  of  the  entire  com- 
mittee for  the  purpose  of   carrying   on  his  especial 


12  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

work  ;  and  each  month,  for  the  sake  of  variety  and 
drill,  these  tasks  will  be  shifted. 

The  Nucleus. —  It  may  not  be  possible  at  once  to 
organize  a  missionary  study  class  in  your  society,  out- 
side of  the  missionary  committee  ;  but  that  committee 
itself  should  surely  constitute  itself  a  study  class,  and 
go  right  ahead  in  the  systematic  pursuit  of  missionary 
information.  It  should  meet  regularly  and  often  — 
say  once  every  two  weeks ;  and  each  committee  meet- 
ing should  be  a  meeting  for  the  study  of  some  mis- 
sionary field,  or  other  definite  missionary  theme.  If 
a  five-minute  report  of  each  of  these  studies  is  given 
to  the  society  at  its  next  meeting,  and  if  the  report  is 
brightly  made,  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  othe^" 
Endeavorers  will  begin  to  question  whether  such 
study  would  not  be  a  good  thing  for  them  also. 

Committee  Leadership. —  F'or  training  and  for  va- 
riety, let  the  entire  committee  lead  the  first  missionary 
meeting  of  the  season.  The  committee  will  sit  facing 
the  society,  and  some  part  in  the  work  of  leading  will 
be  assigned  to  each  by  the  chairman.  Thus  the  so- 
ciety will  learn,  at  the  very  outset  of  the  term,  just 
who  are  on  the  missionary  committee,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  wmII  be  impressed  with  their 
responsibility. 

Home  and  Foreign  Committees.  —  For  some  reason  — 
chiefly  the  abundance  of  good  literature  on  the  foreign 
fields  —  most  missionary  meetings,  of  young  folks  and 
old  folks  alike,  deal  with  the  foreign  rather  than  the 
home  fields,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  pref- 
erence of  most  Christian  pocketbooks  is  for  the  home- 
mission  collection-box.      Now,  of  course,  we  believe 


THE    MISSIONARY    COMMITTEE.  13 

that  the  field  is  one,  at  home  or  abroad,  and  to  make 
sure  of  an  even  presentation  of  its  needs  it  may  be 
well  to  divide  the  missionary  committee  into  two  sub- 
committees, one  for  home  and  the  other  for  foreign 
missions,  each  to  conduct  a  meeting  in  turn.  Let  the 
various  members  of  the  committee  take  turns  in  serv- 
ing on  each  of  these  committees. 

Personal  Work.  —  Divide  the  members  of  the  society 
among  the  committeemen,  giving  each  a  group  of 
Endeavorers  with  whom  he  may  talk,  to  get  them 
interested  in  missions.  One  may  need  to  read  more  ; 
another,  perhaps,  ought  to  be  giving  more;  a  third 
should  be  influenced  to  pray  more  for  missions,  and 
so  on. 

A  Scrap-Book  Apiece.  —  Some  societies  have  a  pleas- 
ant system  of  assigning  to  each  member  of  the  mis- 
sionary committee  a  missionary  country  upon  which 
he  collects  all  kinds  of  clippings,  pictures,  and  the 
like,  and  pastes  them  in  a  scrap-book  given  him  for 
that  purpose.  Of  course  the  committeemen  exchange 
scraps  and  aid  one  another.  At  the  close  of  the  term 
of  office  these  scrap-books  are  presented  to  the  society, 
each  being  prefaced  with  a  written  message  from  its 
editor,  and  the  wttole  forms  a  fine  addition  to  the 
missionary  library.  As  an  adjunct  to  this  labor,  the 
several  committeemen  may  be  asked  to  correspond 
each  of  them  with  a  missionary  in  the  country  he  is 
studying  for  his  scrap-book. 


14  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER    III. 
MISSIONARY  MEETINGS. 

A  Good  Missionary  Meeting  should  be  different  from 
the  last  good  missionary  meeting.  It  should  present 
missionary  information  not  only  in  such  a  way  that  it 
can  be  remembered,  but  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot 
be  forgotten.  It  should  not  only  make  missionary 
students,  but  create  mission-lovers.  If  your  meeting 
puts  people  to  sleep,  it  matters  not  how  good  it  is  — 
or,  rather,  it  is  not  good  at  all.  There  is  not  in  all  the 
world  a  subject  more  interesting  than  missions,  and 
uninteresting  missionary  meetings  are  the  most  inex- 
cusable kind  of  uninteresting  meetings.  That  the 
missionary  meeting  should  be  spiritual,  that  it  should 
be  full  of  the  spirit  of  prayer,  that  it  should  instruct, 
that  it  should  promote  beneficence — all  this,  although 
it  may  sound  strange  to  say  it — comes  after  the  one 
requirement  that  it  be  interesting.  Interest  in  mis- 
sions once  gained,  the  marvellous  facts  will  do  the 
rest ;  they  will  provoke  prayers  and  gifts  and  earnest 
study. 

With  these  beliefs  in  mind,  I  have  planned  and  col- 
lected the  following  schemes  for  missionary  meetings. 
They  will  certainly  be. found  to  be  diversified,  and  I 
know  they  are  workable.  It  is  my  prayer  that  they 
may  be  worked! 

Be  Original. —  The  plans  given   in   this  chapter  — 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  I  5 

and.  for  that  matter,  in  this  entire  book  —  are  not  to 
take  the  place  of  your  own  invention.  They  are 
intended  to  help  you  form'  your  own  plans  and  to 
supplement  the  plans  you  may  form  yourself.  Indeed, 
your  own  plan  is  better  for  you  than  a  much  better 
plan  that  is  not  your  own,  and  your  society,  as  well  as 
yourself,  is  likely  to  take  more  interest  in  it.  Use 
printed  exercises,  but  also  make  up  your  own ;  and 
use  these  schemes  for  missionary  meetings,  but  also 
get  up  a  few  on  your  own  account. 

Missionary  Bands.  —  This  is  an  ideal  plan  for  mis- 
sionary work,  provided  it  is  not  held  to  so  long  that  it 
becomes  stereotyped.  Divide  the  society  into  as 
many  groups  as  your  denomination  has  important 
mission  fields  —  the  China  Band,  the  Japan  Band,  the 
African  Band,  etc.  Each  band  will  have  a  leader  who 
will  superintend  its  work.  It  will  be  the  business  of 
the  bands  to  study  their  respective  countries  and  pre- 
pare meetings  upon  them  to  be  held  during  the  year, 
each  band  presiding  over  its  own  meeting.  Thus  you 
are  quite  sure  that  every  member  of  the  society  will 
do  some  definite  missionary  reading,  and  also  that  all 
the  missionary  work  of  your  denomination  will  be  laid 
before  the  society  during  the  year,  A  beneficial 
'emulation  among  the  bands  is  likely  to  be  aroused, 
each  striving  to  present  the  best  meeting. 

The  Number  of  Missionary  Meetings  to  be  held  dur- 
ing the  year  depends,  of  course,  on  the  progress 
already  made  in  missionary  interest.  Four  are  laid 
down  in  the  uniform  topics  prepared  by  the  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  one  each  quarter  ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  society  has  developed  sufficient  enthusi- 


1 6  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

asm  to  warrant  it,  by  all  means  drop  some  of  the  other 
topics  and  substitute  missionary  meetings  for  them. 
You  should  have  at  least  as  many  missionary  meet- 
ings in  the  course  of  the  year  as  your  denomination 
has  important  mission  fields. 

The  Topics  of  the  regular  missionary  meetings  laid 
down  in  the  United  Society's  list  of  topics  are  of 
necessity  general.  The  societies  may  substitute  for 
these  general  topics  the  consideration  of  special  fields 
in  which  they  are  interested,  or  they  may  use  the  gen- 
eral topic  and  add  to  it  whatever  exercises  they  please 
bearing  on  their  special  studies.  If  the  general  topic 
is  used,  it  is  well  for  the  missionary  committee  to  pre- 
pare a  large  number  of  practical  questions  applying 
that  topic  to  the  actual  missionary  work  of  their 
denomination.  Give  these  questions  to  the  members 
beforehand,  that  they  may  come  prepared  to  answer 
them  in  the  meeting. 

When  It  Is  Timely.  —  The  missionary  committee 
should  be  prompt  to  seize  upon  subjects  of  timely 
interest.  While  the  war  was  in  progress  between  this 
country  and  Spain  was  the  time  of  all  others  in  which 
to  arouse  interest  in  missions  in  Spain  and  the  West 
Indies.  Do  not  hesitate  to  break  in  upon  your  pro- 
gramme whenever  any  missionary  country  comes  into 
special  prominence,  and  hold  a  meeting  upon  that 
country. 

The  Meeting  Before  the  missionary  meeting  should 
always  be  made  a  preparation  for  it,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent. The  plans  for  that  meeting  should  be  unfolded, 
unless  even  longer  notice  has  been  necessary.  What- 
ever is  required  from  the  members  should  be  clearly 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  1/ 

explained,    and    prayers    should    be    offered    for    its 
success. 

Keep  the  Pledge. —  Missionary  meetings  are  ve 
likely  to  be  filled  up  with  a  few  speakers.  Tl 
should  be  avoided  as  often  as  possible,  but  whenev^ 
it  seems  best  that  only  a  few  should  take  part  at 
length,  be  sure  to  give  some  opportunity  in  the  course 
of  the  meeting  for  every  one  to  fulfil  his  pledge  to 
"  take  some  part  in  every  meeting."  Sentence  pray- 
ers for  missions  afford  one  opportunity ;  the  repeat- 
ing of  missionary  Bible  verses,  another.  In  calling 
for  this,  expressly  request  those  to  whom  parts  have 
been  assigned  for  the  evening  not  to  take  part  in 
this  exercise.  An  excellent  way  is  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting  to  ask  the  entire  society  to  rise  and  as  their 
participation  in  the  meeting  to  read  in  concert  some 
appropriate  hymn  from  the  song-book,  or  some  pas- 
sage from  the  Bible  that  has  been  copied  on  a  large 
sheet  of  paper  or  on  the  blackboard,  so  that  all  can 
read  it. 

Assignment  Slips. —  Do  not  trust  to  folks'  memo- 
ries. Whenever  the  missionary  committee  wants 
anything  done  by  a  member  —  whether  it  be  to  write 
an  essay,  make  a  talk,  lead  in  prayer,  or  read  a  single 
item  —  let  it  write  upon  a  piece  of  paper  the  mem- 
ber's name,  date  of  the  meeting,  subject,  and  time 
alloted.     Then  there  will  be  no  mistake  about  it. 

Appropriate  Decorations  should  not  be  reserved  for 
the  missionary  social  alone.  Use  them  to  brighten 
up  the  regular  missionary  meeting  also.  The  flag  of 
the  country  you  are  to  study,  a  vase  full  of  the  flow- 
ers associated  with  it.  pictures  of  mission  scenes  on  the 


15  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

walls,  even  though  they  are  not  referred  to  during  the 
evening,  have  their  effect  and  contribute  to  the  interest. 

Do  Not  Read.  —  Many  missionary  meetings  are 
quite  spoiled  by  the  dull  reading  of  selections  from 
periodicals.  This  is  the  cheapest,  easiest,  and  least 
effective  method  of  carrying-on  a  missionary  meeting. 
Better  present  a  single  fact,  looking  your  audience  in 
the  eye  and  using  your  own  natural  words,  than  pre- 
sent fifty  facts  in  the  most  eloquent  language,  if  the 
language  is  another's,  and  you  have  to  read  it.  "Say 
it  in  your  own  words"  should  be  the  constant  exhor- 
tation of  the  missionary  committee  whenever  they 
give  out  missionary  articles  or  books  upon  which  a 
report  is  expected. 

The  Last  Ten  Minutes  of  a  regular  meeting  may 
be  set  aside  for  a  course  of  missionary  study  if  you 
cannot  get  systematic  missionary  information  before 
the  society  in  any  other  way.  This  weekly  ten  min- 
utes, if  wisely  used,  filled  with  pointed  essays  and 
bright  talks,  the  whole  being  fixed  by  short  questions, 
will  soon  suffice  to  give  the  Endeavorers  an  outline  of 
missionary  history  in  general  and  the  history  of  your 
denomination's  missions  in  particular. 

An  Examination  may  well  be  held  at  the  close  of 
each  missionary  meeting.  Announce  at  the  opening 
of  the  meeting  that  it  will  be  held.  Appoint  one  of 
the  best  members  to  conduct  it.  Give  him  five  min- 
utes for  the  exercise.  He  will  ask  sharp,  pointed 
questions,  which  can  be  answered  in  few  words,  and 
which  cover  the  important  points  of  information 
brought  out  during  the  evening.  The  answers  are  to 
be   given    in   concert,  and  if   they  are  weak   on  any 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  1 9 

point,  the  examiner  will  ask  the  same  question  over 
again  further  on. 

A  Summarist.  —  If  for  anj-  reason  it  is  not  thought 
best  to  hold  the  examination,  appoint  a  "  summarist," 
who  will  watch  the  evening's  exercises  carefulh'  and 
fill  a  few  minutes  at  the  end  with  a  review  of  the 
most  important  points  brought  out.  Be  sure  to  save 
time  for  him.  The  danger  of  our  missionary  meet- 
ings is  that  they  will  leave  nothing  behind  them  in 
the  mind.  Nothing  is  taught  unless  something  is 
remembered.     Remember  that ! 

Home  Missions.  —  The  difficult^'  of  getting  good 
material  for  home-mission  meetings  should  make  you 
especially  zealous  for  this  branch  of  the  subject. 
Try  to  hold  as  many  home-mission  meetings  as  for- 
eign. Spend  one  evening  telling  the  noble  story  of 
how  Whitman  saved  Oregon.  Spend  another  on 
Brainerd  and  Eliot  and  the  other  early  missionaries 
to  the  Indians.  Such  a  book  as  Puddefoot's  "  Min- 
utemen  on  the  Frontier"  (New  York:  T.  Y.  Crowell 
and  Co.  $1.25)  or  any  of  Egerton  R.  Young's  books, 
will  prove  of  intense  interest.  Subscribe  to  all  the 
home-mission  magazines  you  can.  You  will  find 
them  pulsing  with  the  life-blood  of  heroes. 

Use  the  Student  Volunteers,  if  any  are  in  your 
neighborhood.  These  earnest  young  men  and  women 
are  always  glad  to  address  young  people's  societies 
on  the  subject  so  dear  to  their  hearts,  and  a  meeting 
led  by  one  of  them  serves  a  double  purpose  —  it  in- 
spires and  instructs  the  society,  and  it  shows  the  vol- 
unteers that  we  are  deeply  interested  in  their  work 
and  purposes. 


20  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

Anniversaries. —  Make  a  list  of  the  days  of  birth  or 
of  death  of  great  missionaries,  and  hold  meetings  oc- 
casionally, on  or  near  such  anniversaries,  to  consider 
their  lives.  For  example,  John  E.  Clough  was  born 
on  June  i6,  and  Fidelia  Fiske  arrived  at  Oroomiah 
on  June  14,  and  Carey  sailed  for  India,  and  Judson 
reached  Burmah,  on  June  13  —  anniversaries  that 
should  add  much  interest  to  any  missionary  meeting 
held  during  that  week.  "The  Missionary  Daily 
Text-Book"  (New  York:  The  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Co.)  is  a  useful  compilation,  if  any  one  is  in  search  of 
these  facts. 

"The  Missionary  Bulletin."  —  This  is  a  home-made 
missionary  periodical.  It  may  appear  once  a  quarter 
or  oftener.  Its  editor  should  be  some  one  interested 
in  missions,  and  also  —  a  good  coaxer  !  He  will  write 
the  editorials,  and  as  little  besides  as  he  can.  Fill 
the  paper  with  thoughts  upon  missions,  original  po- 
ems, bits  of  mission  news  collected  by  the  members, 
spurs  to  more  generous  giving.  Do  not  forget  a  bit 
of  fun  now  and  then.  Put  it  in  regular  newspaper 
form,  and  do  not  omit  the  advertisements.  Even 
these,  however,  should  be  harmonious,  for  you  may 
advertise  for  missionary  pocketbooks,  missionary 
hands,  and  missionary  tongues. 

"  Fuel  for  Missionary  Fires  "  is  a  book  by  Belle  M. 
Brain,  published  by  the  United  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  and  sold  for  35  cents.  It  furnishes  a  great 
deal  of  material  for  missionary  meetings,  and  is 
supplementary  to  the  present  volume,  treating  with 
great  fulness  a  number  of  valuable  plans  for  mission- 
ary meetings,  and  supplying  a  fund   of  mlsssionary 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  21 

quotations  and  the  like.  All  missionary  committees 
should  have  it. 

Missionary  Exercises  that  deal  with  the  work  of  ai- 
denominations  are  not  easy  to  find,  and  so  I  mention 
here  the  series  published  by  the  United  Society  of 
Christian  Endeavor.  This  series  is  especially  full  in 
the  subjects  connected  with  the  American  continent. 

A  Biography  Meeting.  —  One  of  the  best  kinds  of 
missionary  meetings  is  based  simply  on  a  single  he- 
roic life  devoted  to  the  great  cause.  Get  as  many 
copies  of  the  biography  as  you  can,  and  set  as  many 
as  possible  to  reading  it.  If  you  have  only  one  copy, 
those  that  are  to  participate  in  the  meeting  might 
well  gather  in  some  home  and  read  the  book  together, 
each  taking  notes  on  the  part  he  is  to  talk  about. 
Divide  the  life  by  topics.  If  Carey,  for  instance,  is 
the  theme,  you  will  ask  one  to  tell  about  his  antece- 
dents and  early  life  ;  another  to  tell  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  first  missionary  society  ;  others  to  describe 
the  establishment  of  the  first  English  mission,  the 
Serampore  Brotherhood.  Carey's  work  as  a  trans- 
lator, as  a  teacher,  as  a  practical  business  man,  as  a 
scientist,  as  a  preacher,  a  soul-winner,  the  story  of  his 
death,  the  summary  of  his  life  work.  Maps  and  all 
sorts  of  pictures  showing  Hindoo  places  and  customs 
should  be  exhibited.  If  each  person  speaks  briefly 
and  to  the  point,  such  a  meeting  as  this,  dealing  with 
such  men  as  Martyn,  Paton,  Mackay,  Patteson,  Duff, 
Heber,  Morrison,  Gilmour,  Hannington,  Moffatt, 
Livingstone,  Judson,  Hamlin,  Coan,  and  others  al- 
most beyond  number,  cannot  fail  to  leave  behind  it  a 
profound  impression,  and  to   influence   for  missions 


22  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

all  that  are  present,  and  especially  those  that  take 
part. 

A  Progress  Meeting.  —  This  meeting  might  come  at 
the  end  of  the  year's  work.  It  is  for  the  purpose  of 
noting  the  encouraging  omens  all  over  the  world. 
Assign  the  different  mission  fields  to  different  En- 
deavorers,  and  instruct  each  to  note  the  favorable 
signs  in  the  region  he  is  treating.  If  there  are  dark 
clouds,  for  this  once  pass  them  by.  Make  it  a  halle- 
lujah meeting, 

A  Catechism  Meeting.  —  One  of  the  most  attractive 
of  missionary  meetings,  a  meeting  especially  valuable 
because  of  the  number  of  Endeavorers  it  brings  in,  is 
one  made  up  entirely  of  questions  and  answers.  The 
leader  or  the  committee  must  prepare  beforehand  as 
many  questions  as  there  are  members  in  the  society, 
and  write  out  short  answers  for  the  more  inexperi- 
enced, or  give  them  the  facts  that  they  may  write  out 
answers  for  themselves.  Here  is  a  sample  set  of 
such  questions :  — 

How  many  Christians  are  in  the  world,  and  how  many  not  Chris- 
tians ? 

How  much  would  an  average  yearly  gift  of  one  dollar  from  each 
Protestant  in  the  world  increase  the  funds  of  the  foreign-mission 
boards  ? 

How  much  per  member  does  our  denomination  give  each  year  for 
home  missions  ?  for  foreign  missions  ? 

In  what  country  are  our  denominational  missions  now  most  flour- 
ishing? least  flourishing  ? 

Is  there  any  country  or  group  of  islands  in  the  world  to  which  the 
gospel  of  Christ  has  not  been  taken  ? 

What  is  the  most  discouraging  mission  field  ? 

Whom  do  you  consider  the  three  greatest  missionaries  to  Africa? 

What  missions  of  our  denomination  are  the  oldest  ? 

What  country  has  the  most  missions  of  our  denomination  ? 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  23 

What  mission  field  of  our  denomination  has  been  completely  won, 
and  the  work  closed  up  ? 

In  what  parts  of  India  are  our  denominational  missions  ? 

What  is  the  greatest  missionary  society  in  the  world  ? 

In  what  country  do  Methodist  missions  lead  all  others  ?  Congrega- 
tional ? 

When  was  our  foreign  missionary  society  formed? 

Who  were  the  first  missionaries  of  our  denomination  ? 

Where,  at  present,  are  the  leading  centres  of  our  own  home-mission 
work? 

What  missionary  periodicals  does  our  church  publish  ? 

Who  do  you  think  are  the  six  greatest  men  among  our  denomina- 
tional missionaries  of  the  past  and  present  ? 

In  general,  what  is  the  present  condition  of  our  missions  in  Japan  ? 

How  much  money  has  this  society  pledged  to  missions  for  this 
year? 

What  is  tithe-giving,  and  what  are  its  advantages  ? 

What  is  the  most  interesting  book  on  missions  you  ever  read  ? 

Who  is  your  favorite  missionary  hero  ? 

What  are  some  of  the  words  of  Christ  that  command  missionary 
enterprises  ? 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  questions  are  intended  to 
arouse  original  thought,  as  well  as  to  promote  investi- 
gation and  give  a  sort  of  bird's-eye  view  of  the  mis- 
sion field.  Scores  of  such  questions  can  be  answered 
in  the  course  of  an  hour.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  save 
time  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  for  a  review,  the 
same  questions  being  asked  at  random,  and  the  en- 
tire society  being  expected  to  reply  in  concert.  Or  at 
another  meeting  the  programme  may  be  repeated 
without  change  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  facts  in 
mind. 

A  Language  Meeting. —  So  much  of  missionary  suc- 
cess has  been  based  upon  the  study  of  the  strange 
languages  of  this  Babel  of  a  world  that  a  missionary 
meeting   may  with  profit  be   based  upon   the  same 


2  4  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

Study.  Take,  for  instance,  a  large  home-made  outline 
map  of  India.  Make  from  brightly  colored  adhesive 
paper  a  set  of  circular  wafers,  one  color  for  each  of 
India's  great  dialects  —  the  Hindi,  Marathi,  Telugu, 
Tamil,  etc.  Each  wafer  will  be  given  to  a  different 
Endeavorer,  who  will  come  forward  when  the  leader 
calls  and  fix  it  to  the  map  in  the  proper  place,  at  the 
same  time  telling  something  about  the  language  — 
how  many  persons  speak  it,  what  great  missionaries 
have  worked  in  that  region,  something  about  the  char- 
acter of  the  people,  and  the  like.  In  this  way  the 
polyglot  nation  of  Egypt  may  be  studied,  and  even 
such  a  country  as  China,  whose  languages  are  not  so 
diverse  —  yet  here  there  are  the  languages  of  the  dif- 
ferent classes,  the  written  and  the  spoken  languages. 
The  difficulties  of  these  different  tongues,  the  triumphs 
missionaries  have  won  over  them,  the  pioneers  in 
language-study  in  each  country,  the  influence  of  trans- 
lations and  of  the  establishment  of  a  native  literature 
—  all  these  and  many  similar  themes  will  readily  come 
to  mind.  Of  course,  if  you  can,  you  will  get  hold  of 
the  foreigners  themselves,  and  get  audible  specimens 
of  the  languages  you  are  studying. 

Missionary  Women, —  Since  so  large  a  part  of  the 
Endeavorers  are  young  women,  we  should  have  at 
least  one  meeting  entirely  devoted  to  missionary 
heroines.  Buckland's  "  Women  in  the  Mission  Field  " 
(New  York:  Thomas  Whittaker.  50  cents)  will  fur- 
nish abundant  material,  but  it  should  be  supplemented 
with  studies  of  the  women  that  are  now  doing  noble 
work  for  your  own  missionary  boards,  and  with  such 
famous  stories  as  that  of  Mrs,  Judson. 


MLSSIOXARV    MEETINGS.  2$ 

A  Modern  Miracles  Meeting.  —  The  wonderful  hap- 
penings on  the  mission  field  are  the  nearest  approach 
to  miracles  we  have  in  modern  times,  and  furnish  the 
most  convincing  proofs  of  Christianity.  Using  such 
books  as  Dr.  Pierson's  "  Miracles  of  Missions,"  first 
and  second  series  (New  York  :  Funk  and  Wagnalls, 
Si.oo)  crowd  some  evening  full  of  brief  accounts  of 
these  marvellous  events.  When  you  tell  about  the 
'•Lone  Star"  mission,  hang  a  silver  star  before  the 
audience.  When  you  tell  about  Murray's  work  for 
the  blind  in  China,  hang  by  the  side  of  the  star  a  pair 
of  dark  glasses.  A  small  spear,  the  point  dipped  in 
red  ink,  or  a  rainbow  of  pasteboard  nicely  painted, 
will  illustrate  the  story  of  Madagascar.  In  the  same 
way  other  symbols  may  be  added  as  the  evening  pro- 
gresses. 

Medical  Missions  will  make  a  splendid  theme  for  a 
separate  meeting.  The  story  of  Dr.  Mackenzie,  in 
Beach's  "Knights  of  the  Labarum,"  (Chicago :  Stu- 
dent Volunteer  Movement)  is  a  sample  of  the  many 
inspiring  lives  that  may  be  studied.  The  missionary 
magazines  are  full  of  noble  proofs  of  the  value  of 
medical  missions,  and  short  anecdotes  may  be  collected 
to  almost  any  extent.  The  meeting  might  well  begin 
with  a  recital  of  the  need  in  heathen  countries  of  care 
for  the  body.  It  is  a  gruesome  tale.  Several  Endeav- 
orers  should  speak,  each  taking  up  one  country.  Then 
should  come  the  stories  of  medical  missions,  and  of 
how  they  have  opened  the  way  for  the  gospel.  Close 
with  the  song,  "  The  Great  Physician." 

A  Curio  Meeting. —  To  this  meeting  each  member 
will  bring  some  object  from  missionary  lands,  if  only 


26  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

a  picture  of  a  foreign  scene.  He  will  exhibit  this  to 
the  society  and  say  a  word  about  missions  in  line  with 
what  he  has  shown.  Do  not  announce  this  meeting 
until  by  private  interviews  you  have  assured  yourself 
of  a  basis  for  its  success. 

A  Picture  Meeting. —  This  is  so  much  like  the  curio 
meeting  that  it  should  not  be  held  the  same  year.  Ask 
every  member  of  the  society  to  bring  some  missionary 
picture,  and  tell  something  about  it.  It  may  be  a 
scene  in  China,  the  picture  of  a  Parsee  priest,  the 
portrait  of  a  missionary,  a  sketch  of  a  South  African 
kraal,  a  scrap  of  Chinese  printing.  Whatever  it  is, 
let  it  be  shown  and  a  word  be  said  about  it.  The 
society  should  sit  in  a  compact  body  that  the  pictures 
may  readily  be  seen,  and  at  the  close  they  might  be 
passed  from  hand  to  hand,  the  title  being  written  upon 
each.  In  this  way  much  may  be  learned,  and  very 
pleasantly. 

Missionary  Debates. —  Two  or  more  will  speak  on  a 
side,  according  to  the  time  you  have  at  your  disposal. 
Of  course  there  will  be  no  display  of  oratory,  only  an 
earnest  presentation  of  the  case  from  the  differing 
view-points.  "Was  Henry  Martyn's  life  a  failure  or 
a  success?"  is  a  possible  subject,  although  a  rather 
one-sided  one.  Other  suggestions  are  these:  "Is  it 
advisable  to  send  out  unmarried  missionaries?" 
"  Should  our  missionaries  engage  to  any  considerable 
extent  in  the  work  of  secular  education  ?  "  "  Is  it  best 
that  missionaries  should  labor  in  secular  occupations 
for  the  support  of  their  missions?  " 

A  Board  Meeting. —  If  your  denomination  has  several 
missionary  boards,  hold  one  meeting  early  in  the  year, 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  2/ 

in  which  you  will  try  to  fix  clearly  the  different  lines 
of  activity  of  the  various  boards.  Divide  the  even- 
ing among  them,  and  treat  each  in  a  succession  of 
talks  or, little  essays,  whose  subjects  might  be:  the 
history  of  the  board,  its  present  field  of  work,  its  great 
men,  the  books  and  magazines  connected  with  its 
work,  its  present  needs,  its  most  glorious  triumphs. 

A  One-Field  Meeting. —  It  is  often  well  to  spend  an 
entire  evening  upon  one  particular  field.  I  do  not  mean 
a  single  country  but  a  portion  of  a  country,  such  as 
the  province  of  Foochow,  the  Tamil  district  of  South 
India,  the  Dakota  tribe  of  Indians.  The  minute 
knowledge  that  can  thus  be  gained  gives  one  a  sense 
of  mastery  such  as  a  wider  survey  cannot  give. 

A  Missionary  Picnic. —  The  essence  of  a  picnic  is 
that  everybody  brings  something.  Get  up  a  missionary 
meeting  on  that  plan,  having  it  understood  that  each 
person  in  the  society  is  to  bring  some  item  of  mission- 
ary interest.  The  leader  will  place  before  the  society 
a  map  of  the  world,  and  will  point  to  each  mission 
field  as  he  calls  for  the  items  from  that  field  that  may 
have  been  brought.  After  each  field,  call  for  brief 
prayers  for  the  work  there,  especially  remembering 
the  needs  of  the  persons  that  may  have  been  mentioned 
in  the  items  contributed.  The  missionary  committee 
should  have  a  few  items  ready  to  give  out  to  the  care- 
less, but  if  the  plan  is  thoroughly  announced  for  sev- 
eral weeks  beforehand,  these  items  will  hardly  be 
drawn  upon. 

A  Twelve-Facts  Meeting. —  At  the  rate  of  one  fact  a 
minute,  you  can  get  into  the  hour  five  times  twelve 
facts,  with  the  probability  that  time  enough  will  be 


2S  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

left  for  the  opening,  for  singing,  and  for  prayers. 
Choose,  therefore,  five  important  missionary  fields, 
such  as  China,  India,  Africa,  South  America,  and  the 
home  field.  Take  sixty  Endeavorers,  and  ask  each  to 
come  prepared  to  give  one  missionary  fact  belonging 
to  the  country  assigned  him.  If  you  have  fewer  than 
sixty  members,  appoint  some  to  double  duty.  Let  all 
the  facts  about  China,  say,  be  given  first.  Follow 
with  prayers  for  China,  then  go  on  to  the  other 
countries. 

Denominational  Dates.  —  To  fix  the  times  wdi en  die 
various  missionary  boards  of  your  denomination  were 
founded,  and  when  they  began  work  in  various  fields, 
as  well  as  the  dates  of  other  events  important  in  the 
missionary  history  of  your  denomination,  make  a  ser- 
ies of  pasteboard  squares,  and  in  each  print  one  of 
these  dates,  with  a  brief  statement  of  the  fact,  as: 
"  Home  Board  founded,  1836."  Give  each  placard  to 
an  Endeavorer,  with  instructions  to  say  a  few  words 
on  that  subject.  Set  in  front  of  the  room  a  wooden 
upright.  Hooks  in  this  correspond  to  eyes  in  the 
placards,  which  are  hung  upon  the  upright,  as  the 
talks  arc  made,  in  the  order  of  the  years,  thus  forming 
a  kind  of  denominational  family  tree. 

A  Map  Meeting. —  Issue  a  call  for  short  missionary 
items,  to  be  written  out  in  the  language  of  the  member 
and  read  by  liim  at  the  meeting.  Each  Endeavorer 
will  go  to  the  front  of  the  room,  read  his  item,  and 
then  pin  it  upon  a  map  of  the  world  in  the  proper 
place.  Of  course  it  will  be  better  if  you  have  a  series 
of  large  home-made  maps  of  the  various  mission  coun- 
tries, as  these  -will  not  be  injured  by  the  pins  and  will 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  29 

show  the  geography  on  a  larger  scale  than  a  map  of 
the  world. 

An  Impersonation  Meeting.  —  Ask  a  number  of  mem- 
bers to  study  up,  each  of  them,  the  life  of  some  living 
missionary  in  such  a  way  that  he  can  speak  in  that 
missionary's  character  at  the  coming  meeting.  Repre- 
senting Dr.  Greene,  for  instance,  John  Saunders  will 
tell  something  about  his  own  work  among  the  Coreans, 
using  the  first  person  all  the  way  through.  The  meet- 
ing may  be  varied  by  assigning  to  some  members 
such  characters  as  a  native  Persian,  an  Arab,  a  Mo- 
hammedan priest,  a  Jew  of  Russia.  Have  your  bright- 
est speaker  lead  off  in  this  exercise,  to  set  the  pace 
for  the  rest. 

A  Diagram  Meeting. —  Give  each  member  a  mission- 
ary fact  that  can  be  illustrated  by  a  diagram,  and  get 
him  to  prepare  it  and  show  it  at  the  next  missionary 
meeting,  with  an  explanation.  Such  a  book  as  ''  The 
Missionary  Pastor"  (New  York:  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Co.  75  cents)  will  be  very  helpful  here.  For  exam- 
ple, the  gifts  to  foreign  missions  by  decades  in  the 
present  century  may  be  shown  by  a  number  of  squares, 
each  gloriously  larger  than  the  one  before  it.  Islam 
may  be  shown  as  a  tree,  and  on  the  branches  may  be 
written  the  names  of  some  of  the  dreadful  things  that 
are  the  outgrowths  from  that  false  faith. 

A  Missionary  Tour  through  different  missionary 
lands  will  make  up  a  good  meeting.  Appoint  a  sepa- 
rate guide  for  each  stage  of  the  journey. 

Suppose  you  desire  to  go  to  Siam.  One  Endeav- 
orer  will  take  you  across  our  country,  not  forgetting 
to  pdint  out  the  great  home-m.ission  fields.     A  second 


30  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

guide  will  put  you  on  board  ship  at  San  Francisco 
and  carry  you  to  Hawaii,  escorting  you  around  those 
islands  and  telling  you  of  their  wonderful  missionary 
liistory.  So  by  easy  stages  you  will  get  to  Japan,  to 
Shanghai,  to  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  finally  com- 
plete your  journey  with  a  tour  of  Siam.  Limit  each 
guide  to  five  minutes. 

Hercei  and  Heroines. —  For  this  meeting  ask  each 
member  to  name  some  missionary  that  has  done  great 
things  for  God,  telling  one  of  the  great  things  accom- 
plished. Of  course  the  country  in  w^hich  the  mission- 
ary works  should  be  named,  and  some  member  of  the 
society  should  sit  by  a  map  with  a  pointer  to  locate 
each  missionary  as  he  is  named.  It  will  add  interest 
to  the  meeting  if  the  young  women  be  asked  to  name 
missionary  heroines  and  the  young  men  missionary 
heroes ! 

A  Kingdom-Come  Meeting,  —  Ask  each  member  in 
preparation  for  this  meeting  to  think  over  the  history 
of  the  past  month  and  choose  some  event  that  has  a 
definite  relation  to  the  coming  of  the  fCingdom.  Then 
let  him  tell  what  that  relation  is.  It  may  be  immedi- 
ate, such  as  the  granting  of  freer  religious  liberty  in 
a  South  American  state,  or  it  may  be  less  direct,  such 
as  an  improvement  in  printing. 

Around  the  Christian  Endeavor  World.  —  An  evening 
spent  in  a  review  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  all  lands 
may  be  made  full  of  missionary  interest.  It  will  show 
us  the  possibilities  of  the  natives  as  few  other  exhibits 
can.  A  file  of  The  Chrisiian  Endeavor  World  will 
furnish  an  abundance  of  material  in  the  way  of  reports 
and  pictures.     A  little  exertion  will  rbtain  for  you  ? 


MISSIONARY     MEETINGS.  3 1 

letter  from  some  native  Endeavorer  in  each  mission 
field  of  the  world. 

A  Missionary  Question-Box.  —  You  will  not  go  far  in 
your  missionary  studies  without  exciting  questions, 
and  an  opportunity  for  these  should  be  given.  The 
first  question-box  need  occupy  only  part  of  an  even- 
ing, and  the  missionary  committee  should  provide  a 
number  of  questions  to  be  used  in  case  the  members 
of  the  society  are  not  in  an  interrogative  mood.  Ques- 
tions may  be  expected  on  the  different  religions,  on 
different  plans  of  missionary  organization,  on  prob- 
lems of  tithe-giving,  on  the  customs  of  the  heathen 
world,  on  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom.  The  leader 
should  invite  to  the  meeting  some  of  the  best  informed 
church-members,  to  whom  he  may  refer  the  more  diffi- 
cult questions. 

An  Answer-Box  is  similar,  except  that  a  general 
question  is  propounded  and  the  society  is  asked  to 
contribute  answers  to  it.  Some  such  questions  as 
these  may  be  used  for  answer-boxes :  "  What  is  the 
chief  qualification  for  missionary  work  }  "  "  What  is 
the  most  interesting  story  of  missions  ?  "  "  Who  was 
the  world's  greatest  missionary?  Why?"  "Why 
should  we  give  at  least  a  tenth  of  our  incomes  to  the 
Lord  ?  " 

A  Missionary  News-Box  is  made  up  of  bits  of  mis- 
sionary information  contributed  by  all  the  members. 
Every  one  must  put  in  something,  and  no  one  may 
put  in  more  than  three  items.  Limit  the  total  num- 
ber of  words  to  one  hundred,  so  that,  if  any  one 
gi^'es  two  or  three  items,  each  must  be  very  short 
indeed.     After  the  items  have  been  collected,  redis- 


32  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

tribute  them  and  have  them  read,  no  one  reading 
his  own. 

A  Prophecy  Meeting.  —  One  speaker  will  tell  the 
worst  things  he  knows  about  heathen  lands,  picturing 
the  darkness  of  the  dark  countries  under  their  degrad- 
ing religions.  He  will  be  followed  by  other  speakers 
who  will  prophesy  of  the  future  that  Christianity  will 
inaugurate.  One  will  tell  what  changes  may  be  ex- 
pected as  a  result  of  the  entrance  of  Christian  com- 
merce and  civilization.  Another  will  foresee  the  com- 
ing triumphs  of  Christian  education.  Others  will 
speak  of  what  God  is  going  to  accomplish  through 
Christian  commerce,  Christian  literature,  Christian 
physicians.  Others  will  tell  of  coming  changes  in 
society  and  government,  in  the  homes  and  the  daily  life. 

A  One-Missionary  Evening.  —  This  is  to  introduce 
some  living  missionary  in  whom  the  society  may  come 
to  have  a  personal  interest  —  not  a  great  missionary, 
perhaps,  but  one  who  has  visited  the  church  or  is  re- 
lated to  some  church-member,  or  some  one  to  whom 
you  have  recently  sent  money.  Find  out  about  his 
early  life,  his  college  days,  his  missionary  work.  Sing 
his  favorite  hymns.  Get  letters  from  him,  and  have 
them  read.  Show  his  photograph.  Pray  for  him  and 
for  his  converts. 

"  Early  in  the  Morning,"  —  There  is  much  in  the  in- 
terest aroused  by  novel  surroundings,  and  a  meeting 
held  at  a  time  different  from  usual  is  almost  certain  to 
be  better  than  usual.  Some  societies  have  applied 
this  principle  to  missionary  meetings,  and  have  found 
that  a  missionary  meeting  held  the  very  first  thing  Qn 
the  Lord's  Day  gives  a  magnificent  start  to  the  day, 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  33 

and  stirs  up  fresh  zeal  for  missions.  There  is  a  spec- 
ial fitness  in  it,  too,  since  missions  mean  the  sunrise 
of  hope  and  joy  for  the  nations. 

Missionary  Camps. —  Divide  the  society  into  groups, 
which  you  will  call  camps  —  the  Indian  camp,  the 
African  camp,  the  Japanese  camp,  etc.  They  will  sit 
together,  the  chairs  being  arranged  in  circles,  and 
each  camp  will  have  five  minutes  in  which  to  fire  off 
guns  at  the  rest.  The  "  guns  "  consist  of  missionary 
items  about  the  country  from  which  their  camp  takes 
its  name. 

A  Quotation  Meeting,  —  Choose  three  missionaries 
that  are  good  writers — for  example,  Gilmour  of  Mon- 
golia, Patteson  of  the  South  Seas,  and  Martyn  of 
India  and  Persia.  Make  extracts  from  their  writings 
and  give  them  to  a  number  of  Endeavorers  to  read, 
asking  each  to  comment  briefly  on  the  sentiment 
expressed.  Follow  each  set  of  quotations  with  a 
short  talk  on  the  life  of  the  missionary. 

Missionary  Martyrs.  —  This  topic  is  a  thrilling  one 
for  a  missionary  meeting.  To  make  it  a  success  you 
will  need  a  pretty  wide  knowledge  of  missionary  biog- 
raphy, or  some  such  book  as  Croil's  "The  Noble 
Army  of  Mart^Ts  "  (Philadelphia:  The  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication.  75  cents).  Assign  to  different 
members  the  stories  of  these  heroic  deaths,  and  close 
the  evening  with  a  talk  by  the  pastor  on  the  lessons 
they  teach. 

Bible  Translation.  —  The  story  of  the  translation  of 
the  Bible  into  the  hundreds  of  languages  which, 
before  the  advent  of  the  missionary,  were  not  even 
written  languages,  is  one  of  the  finest  stories  of  human 


34  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

history,  and  well  deserves  an  evening  to  itself. 
Different  members  may  undertake  to  give  accounts  of 
the  history  of  Bible  translation  in  different  countries, 
and  each  speaker  will  become  an  enthusiast  on  his 
theme.  In  addition,  great  heroism  has  been  dis- 
played by  the  Bible  colporters  of  the  world,  and 
wonderful  results  have  sprung  from  their  labors. 
The  American  Bible  Society  has  a  leaflet  for  free 
distribution  giving  samples  of  the  various  languages 
into  which  the  Bible  has  been  translated. 

A  Patience  Meeting.  —  Patience  is  a  lesson  all  mis- 
sionaries and  missionary  workers  have  to  learn,  and 
the  rewards  of  patience  have  been  illustrated  on 
almost  every  mission  field.  It  will  pay  you  to  gather 
up,  some  evening,  the  stories  of  the  world's  prominent 
mission  fields  that  have  had  a  tedious,  tiresome  begin- 
ning, years  dragging  on  without  a  single  convert,  and 
then  a  sunburst  of  success.  Nearly  every  missionary 
biography  and  the  history  of  nearly  every  mission 
field  will  afford  you  material  for  this  meeting. 

A  Missionary  Trial  is  thus  conducted.  Appoint  a 
judge  and  a  jury,  and  two  lawyers  for  each  of  the 
three  divisions  of  the  debate.  The  question  is, 
"Which  agency  is  doing  most  for  India, —  medical 
missions,  missionary  literature,  or  evangelism?"  One 
from  each  side  will  speak  first,  and  then  the  second 
set  of  speakers.  The  judge  will  charge  the  jury,  and 
finally  a  verdict  will  be  brought  in. 

A  Home  Meeting  will  be  a  pleasant  novelty.  The 
entire  society  will  be  invited  to  a  missionary  meeting 
in  some  private  house.  The  informal  arrangement  of 
the   chairs,  the  piano  for   the   music,  the  novel  sur- 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  3$ 

Foundings,  the  atlas  and  globe  and  other  resources  of 
the  library  at  hand,  the  possibility  of  passing  pictures 
around  among  the  company  —  all  combine  to  make  a 
meeting  that  will  be  remembered. 

An  Exploration  Meeting.  —  This  is  an  imaginary 
journey  to  a  missionary  land  made  by  a  party  ot 
Christian  explorers,  who  will  report  in  the  first  person, 
as  if  each  had  actually  seen  what  he  describes.  There 
will  be  a  geographer,  who  will  describe  the  physical 
condition  of  the  country,  its  size,  and  the  like.  Then 
will  come  the  statistician,  who  will  tell  about  the  popu- 
lation, and  give  other  figures,  as  if  he  had  compiled 
them  himself.  Next  will  come  the  historian,  who  will 
tell  what  he  has  learned  from  the  people  about  their 
national  history.  The  rambler  will  come  next,  and 
will  describe  some  of  the  queer  customs  he  has  ob- 
served. Two  press  reporters  will  speak,  one  of  them 
giving  some  conversations  he  has  held  with  the  people 
about  their  systems  of  government  and  of  education 
and  the  social  conditions  generally,  and  the  other  de- 
scribing his  observations  on  missionary  work  in  the 
country.  Of  course  the  geographer  has  made  a  map 
and  the  rest  of  them  had  their  cameras  and  took  snap- 
shots, which  will  furnish  the  pictures  for  the  evening. 
Some  of  these  travellers,  too,  may  have  brought  back 
curios  from  the  journey. 

A  Missionary  Congress.  —  This  meeting  may  be 
greatly  varied.  Here  is  one  form  of  it:  Three  per- 
sons are  chosen  to  represent  each  important  mission- 
ary country,  and  at  the  rneeting  each  of  the  three  is 
presented  to  the  society  in  order.  First  will  come  a 
native  priest,  who  will  tell  about  the  heathen  religion 


36  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

of  the  land.  Next  will  come  a  native  woman,  who 
will  describe  the  condition  of  women  under  the  rule  of 
heathenism.  Finally  will  come  a  Christian  convert, 
who  will  tell  about  missions  and  what  they  have  done 
for  his  country.  These  characters  may  well  be 
dressed  in  the  native  costume,  if  it  can  be  obtained. 

A  Missionary  Newspaper  Evening. —  Current  events 
in  their  bearing  on  missions  make  a  fascinating  theme 
for  study ;  since  the  missionary  now  as  always  is  in 
the  forefront  of  civilization,  and  where  its  battles  are 
the  hottest,  he  is  always  to  be  found.  The  war 
between  India  and  China  was  closely  involved  with 
missionary  interests.  So  were  the  massacres  in 
Armenia.  So  was  the  war  in  Cuba,  that  in  Matabele- 
land,  that  of  the  French  in  Madagascar,  and,  indeed, 
almost  every  considerable  event  of  recent  years  has 
had  its  important  missionary  aspects.  Besides  this,  the 
newspapers  are  full  of  smaller  details  that  have  a 
bearing  on  missions  —  the  coming  of  large  numbers  of 
Japanese  to  Hawaii,  the  purchase  of  the  Caroline 
Islands  by  Germany,  the  building  of  a  new  railroad 
in  China,  the  election  of  a  Mormon  to  Congress, 
trouble  in  an  Indian  tribe.  To  make  this  meeting  a 
success,  give  each  Endeavorer  a  particular  paper  to 
watch,  and  this  will  give  him  a  feeling  of  responsi- 
bility, even  though  several  are  set  to  report  upon 
the  same  paper.  It  will  also  be  necessary  to  give  help 
to  the  inexperienced,  whose  missionary  eyes  are 
hardly  yet  opened. 

The  Bible  and  Missions.  —  Select  for  each  member 
of  the  society  some  Bible  verse  bearing  on  missions, 
asking  him  to  read  it  in  the  next  meeting  and  tell  just 


MISSIONARY    MEETINGS.  3/ 

how  it  bears  on  missions.  If  you  are  sure  the  society 
will  do  it,  it  will  be  better  to  permit  them  to  choose 
their  own  Bible  verses. 

A  Statistics  Meeting  may  seem  like  a  formidable 
undertaking,  but  if  you  once  try  it,  you  will  find  it  a 
meeting  full  of  unexpected  felicities.  Use  all  kinds  of 
statistics  bearing  on  missions,  and  leave  it  largely  to 
the  persons  to  whom  you  give  the  figures  to  present 
them  in  attractive  ways.  Be  sure,  however,  to  suggest 
these  w^ays  to  persons  that  may  not  think  of  them 
themselves.  The  rapidly  increasing  number  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  world,  for  instance,  has  been  illustrated  by 
the  figure  of  a  man  standing  in  water  which  is  rising 
as  Christianity  grows.  During  the  first  century  it 
comes  up  to  his  ankles,  and  with  each  following 
period  it  rises  over  a  greater  space. 

A  Bird's-Eye  View  of  missionary  history  is  a  meet- 
ing easy  to  prepare  and  very  instructive,  needing  only 
some  such  book  as  Bliss's '*  Concise  History  of  Mis- 
sions" (New  York:  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co.  75  cents.) 
or  Leonard's  "Hundred  Years  of  Missions"  (New 
York:  Funk  and  Wagnalls.  $1.50.)  It  will  be  a  sur- 
prise to  most  persons  to  learn  that  modern  missions 
did  not  begin  with  Carey.  Draw  on  a  large  sheet  of 
paper  a  number  of  vertical  lines  to  represent  the  mis- 
sionary history  of  the  different  countries.  Draw  hori- 
zontal lines  across  these,  dividing  them  up  into 
decades,  or  quarter  centuries,  as  you  please.  Prepare 
pasteboard  placards  which  are  to  be  hung  on  the 
large  diagram  in  the  proper  place.  For  instance,  a 
bit  of  pasteboard  reading  "  Mart}'n,  181 1,"  hung  in 
the  proper  place  on  the  line  marked  "  Persia,"  will 


38  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

show  the  beginning  of  missions  in  that  empire,  and  it 
should  be  put  in  place  with  a  word  about  that  saintly 
young  man,  his  visit  to  Persia,  and  his  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  into  the  language  of  the  country. 
When  you  are  done,  you  will  have  a  summary  which 
you  will  be  glad  to  keep,  standing  before  the  society 
in  future  missionary  meetings. 

Native  Heroism. —  Divide  this  inspiring  subject 
among  the  committees,  asking  the  prayer-meeting 
committee,  for  instance,  to  bring  to  the  meeting  exam- 
ples of  the  heroism  of  African  converts,  the  lookout 
committee  to  do  the  same  for  Japan,  etc.  Almost  any 
missionary  biography  or  history  will  furnish  you  with 
many  examples.  So,  also,  will  current  missionary  lit- 
erature. 

"The  Ten  Greatest  Missionaries"  may  furnish  the 
basis  of  a  missionary  programme.  The  missionary 
committee  will  wish  to  select  them,  and  I  will  not  even 
give  my  own  list, —  which  is  as  well,  since  you  would 
not  agree  to  it!  Each  of  the  ten  lives  may  be  consid- 
ered, in  different  aspects,  by  more  than  one  Endeav- 
orer.  Do  not  try  to  be  exhaustive.  For  Livingstone, 
for  instance,  it  will  be  enough  if  one  speaks  of  his 
personal  character,  a  second  of  his  prominent  mission- 
ary achievements,  a  third  of  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing his  death. 

Your  Own  Denomination  —  who  are  its  greatest  mis- 
sionaries.? This  will  be  a  good  question  to  discuss  at 
some  missionary  meeting.  Make  sure  that  the  claims 
of  all  the  most  prominent  missionaries  are  brought 
forward  during  the  evening,  and  thus  you  will  get  a 
review  of  denominational  mission  fields.     Use  a  map, 


MISSIONARY    MEETlx\GS.  39 

and  place  on  the  scene  of  each  missionary's  labors  a 
gilt  star  bearing  the  initial  of  his  name. 

An  Other-Denominations  Meeting. —  One  of  the  great 
gains  from  our  Christian  Endeavor  interdenomina- 
tional movement  is  this,  that  it  is  showing  each  one  of 
us  how  much  of  noble  endeavor  and  Christiike  zeal  is 
in  other  denominations  besides  our  own.  Even  the 
largest  and  most  missionary  of  denominations  is  doing 
only  a  fraction  of  the  world's  missionary  work,  and 
we  are  making  a  great  mistake  if  in  our  missionary 
meetings,  as  is  so  often  done,  we  narrow  our  vision  to 
our  own  denominational  fields.  The  Presbyterians, 
for  instance,  have  Siam  practically  to  themselves ;  the 
Congregationalists  have  Turkey ;  the  United  Presby- 
terians have  Egypt,  and  so  on.  But  do  not  all 
denominations  need  to  know  how  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  progressing  in  Siam,  Turkey,  Egypt,  and  the  rest? 
Besides,  very  liT!ely  our  own  denomination  is  not  doing 
the  largest  or  the  most  successful  work  in  India  or 
China  or  Japan.  Do  we  not  want  to  know  what  that 
work  is,  and  to  get  the  inspiration  it  will  give  ?  Of 
course  to  prepare  this  "  other  denominations  "  meeting 
requires  much  study,  but  if  you  have  the  "  Encyclo- 
pedia of  Missions,"  it  will  not  be  difficult.  Use  a  map 
of  the  world.  Make  adhesive  labels  to  stick  on  the 
countries  where  each  denomination  is  at  work  —  blue 
for  the  Presbyterians,  red  for  the  Methodists,  etc.  It 
will  not  be  possible  to  tell  in  every  case,  but  wherever 
in  any  country  one  denomination  has  clear  precedence 
over  the  others,  add  a  gilt  star  to  its  label.  Facts  of 
interest  about  the  missionary  work  of  the  other  de- 


40  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

nominations   will   be   presented    as    these   labels    are 
placed  on  the  map. 

Note. —  The  books  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  and  throughout  the 
book,  may  all  be  obtained,  if  desired,  at  the  prices  quoted,  from  the 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Tremont  Temple,  Boston. 


MISSIONARY    MAPS.  4 1 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MISSIONARY  MAPS. 


The  Use  of  Maps.  —  Missionary  meetings  without 
maps  are  meetings  hung  in  the  air.  They  do  not 
leave  any  definite  impression.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  maps  and  similar  devices  make  the  attack  on 
Eye-gate,  the  citadel  of  attention  and  memory  is  soon 
ours.  Do  not  take  it  for  granted  that  any  place  in 
foreign  lands,  however  familiar  to  you,  is  familiar  to 
your  auditors;  and  however  often  you  have  already 
pointed  it  out,  point  it  out  again  whenever  you  come 
across  it  in  the  meeting,  for  the  sake  of  the  new  mem- 
bers and  for  the  forgetful  among  the  old  members. 

Home-Made  Maps  are  the  essentials ;  "  bough  ten  " 
maps  are  the  luxuries.  The  home-made  maps  are  the 
best  because  the  process  of  making  them  has  taught 
somebody  something,  and  because,  since  they  are  mere 
outlines,  one  may  insert  just  what  is  needed  for  the 
subject  under  discussion,  and  leave  the  rest  out. 
Moreover,  with  the  home-made  map  you  can  make 
free  use  of  those  prime  aids  to  the  missionary  worker, 
the  colored  gummed  "  stickers."  Do  not  be  over-crit- 
ical in  drawing  these  maps.  It  is  not  necessary  to  get 
in  every  bay  and  every  curve  of  every  river.  Make  a 
few  measurements  and  locate  carefully  the  principal 
features  of  the  map,  filling  in  the  rest  of  the  outline 
with  eye  measurements  only. 

A  Map-Drawing  Evening  might  be  held  by  the  mis- 


42  THE     MISSIONARY     MANUAL, 

sionary  committee  at  the  beginning  of  its  year's  work. 
Draft  whatever  assistance  you  think  you  will  need. 
Provide  a  dozen  sheets  or  more  of  heavy  manilla 
paper,  ink,  coarse  pens,  black  crayon,  and  water-color 
paints.  If  you  have  not  a  good  letterer  in  your  num- 
ber, use  stencils  or  cut  out  letters  from  a  printer's 
alphabet.  Then  set  to  work  and  turn  out  the  year's 
supply  of  home-made  outline  maps. 

Hectographed  Maps  are  an  improvement  even  over 
the  maps  I  have  been  describing,  because  every  mem- 
ber of  the  society  can  have  one,  and  can  take  it  home 
as  a  souvenir  of  the  meeting  and  for  further  study  and 
review.  Besides,  these  maps  can  be  made  very  sim- 
ple, and  the  Endeavorers  can  be  set  to  putting  in 
various  features  as  they  are  described  during  the 
evening.  This  work  of  theirs  will  .serve  to  impress 
the  facts  upon  them. 

The  Published  Maps  of  mission  fields,  however,  are 
of  great  value  for  reference,  and  you  should  get  them 
by  all  means,  if  you  can,  and  keep  them  in  view  of 
the  society  at  all  its  meetings.  A  large  missionary 
map  of  the  world  may  be  obtained  from  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement,  283  Fourth  Ave.,  New  York 
City,  for  ;^3.oo.  Several  of  the  missionary  boards 
publish  maps  of  their  principal  mission  fields. 

Charts  of  All  Kinds  may  be  manufactured  by  our  en- 
terprising committee.  A  circle  may  be  divided  into 
radiating  sections,  each  of  a  size  proportioned  to  the 
numbers  in  some  great  religion  of  the  world.  When 
these  sections  are  colored  so  as  to  be  readily  distin- 
guished, the  chart  will  furnish  a  striking  argument  for 
missions.     The   "spheres  of   influence"    of    the    Eu- 


MISSIONARY    MAPS.  43 

ropean  nations  in  Africa  and  in  China  may  be  shown  by 
the  use  of  colors  on  outline  maps.  Gilt  stars  may 
show  where  your  society  has  sent  contributions  this 
year.  Red  hearts,  each  bearing  the  initial  of  a  mis- 
sionary, may  indicate  where  the  chief  missionaries  of 
your  denomination  are  at  work.  You  may  illustrate 
the  fact  that  China  has  one  medical  missionary  to  two 
and  one  half  million  people,  and  the  United  States 
four  thousand  physicians  to  the  same  population,  by 
making  two  squares  of  the  same  size,  placing  in  the 
centre  of  one  a  single  dot,  and  filling  the  other  with 
four  thousand  dots.  You  may  make  a  set  of  squares 
proportioned  in  size  to  the  population  of  the  different 
countries.  In  short,  there  is  no  end  to  the  bright 
ways  in  which  consecrated  pencils,  managed  by  con- 
secrated brains,  can  preach  in  black  and  white. 

Relief  Maps  showing  the  principal  facts  about  the 
country's  contour,  the  chief  mountain  ranges  and 
plateaus  and  valleys,  may  easily  be  made,  and,  once 
made,  are  a  joy  forever.  Shred  newspapers  and  let 
them  soak  over  night,  when  they  may  be  beaten  up  into 
a  pulp  which  you  can  use  for  your  modeling.  A  tempo- 
rary map  may  be  made  from  damp  sand  or  from  clay. 
Color  your  board  blue  for  the  water  and  let  this  re- 
main uncovered  wherever  the  water  is.  Then  build 
up  your  map,  using  wooden  blocks  for  the  cities,  bits 
of  evergreen  for  forest  regions,  and  the  like. 

Dissected  Maps  may  be  made  to  teach  missionary 
geography  as  well  as  secular.  For  example,  to  show 
the  language  areas  of  India,  make  a  map  of  that  great 
empire,  color  the  language  areas  differently,  mount 
the  map  and  cut  it  apart,  one  language  to  a  section. 


44  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

The  different  parts  may  then  be  pinned  to  a  board  be- 
fore the  socieJ;y,  one  at  a  time,  each  in  the  right  posi- 
tion, something  being  said  about  each  language  as  it 
is  added  to  the  map. 

Gradual  Disclosure.  —  One  of  the  brightest  ways  to 
use  a  missionary  map  is  this.  Before  the  meeting 
cover  it  with  pieces  of  paper,  each  pinned  separately, 
and  so  arranged  that,  as  the  different  parts  of  the 
country  are  mentioned  during  the  evening,  the  various 
pieces  of  paper  can  be  removed  one  by  one,  until  the 
whole  map  is  disclosed. 

The  Comparative  Sizes  of  the  countries  of  the  world 
should  be  shown  whenever  you  place  a  map  before 
the  society.  Put  in  one  corner  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania drawn  in  the  proper  proportion.  One  of  the 
most  effective  missionary  maps  I  ever  saw  showed 
China  with  the  various  European  countries  set  off 
upon  its  surface.  In  the  same  way  the  New  England 
States  might  be  laid  out  in  one  of  the  great  Western 
States  of  our  Union,  thus  teaching  a  lesson  in  home 
missions. 

A  Globe  is  of  help  in  showing  the  relative  positions 
of  places  and  their  relative  sizes,  about  which  we  get 
so  confused  an  idea  from  the  atlas.  Little  flags  may 
flutter  from  the  globe  here  and  there  where  mission- 
aries of  your  denomination  are  at  work. 

A  Blackboard  is  a  decided  help,  because  upon  it 
you  can  dash  off  your  map  as  you  talk,  and  rub  out 
what  is  no  longer  needed.  Whatever  medium  you 
use,  whether  blackboard  or  manilla  paper,  it  is  an  ad- 
vantage not  to  insert  the  names  beforehand,  but  to 
print  them  as  you  come  to  them  in  the  course  of  the 
meeting. 


MISSIONARY    MUSIC.  45 


CHAPTER  V. 

MISSIONARY  MUSIC. 


Index  the  Hymn-Book.  —  The  missionary  committee 
will  be  met  at  the  outset  with  a  difficulty  in  regard  to 
the  hymn-book.  It  will  find  the  number  of  hymns 
placed  under  the  category  of  "  Missions"  entirely  in- 
adequate for  a  series  of  meetings.  But  of  course 
many  hymns  not  indexed  under  this  subject  are  just 
as  suitable  for  missionary  meetings.  Hymns  of  pa- 
tience, of  courage,  of  faith,  of  perseverance,  of  the 
presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit,  of  the  spread  of  the 
Kingdom — all  these  are  essentially  missionary  hymns. 
The  committee  may  well  devote  an  hour  to  reviewing 
the  entire  hymn-book  used  by  the  society^,  marking 
every  hymn  that  is  suitable  to  a  missionary  meeting, 
and  becoming  familiar  with  those  that  are  not  well 
known.  Then  make  a  special  index  of  these  for  ready 
reference. 

An  Impressive  Opening. —  Choose  a  missionary 
hymn  that  shall  be  sung  at  all  the  missionary  meet- 
ings for  the  year —  not  some  flippant  song,  but  some 
grand  hymn  of  the  faith.  It  should  be  committed  to 
memory,  and  at  the  beginning  of  every  missionary 
meeting  the  entire  company  should  rise  and  sing  the 
hymn  with  fervor. 

A  Missionary  Chant  will  prove  still  more  effective 
for  this  purpose.     There  are  numbers  of  psalms  that 


46  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

would  make  noble  introductions  to  your  missionary- 
meetings,  and  the  society  could  easily  learn  to  chant 
them.  Such  a  psalm,  too,  would  serve  as  a  useful 
interruption  to  the  course  of  a  missionary  meeting, 
exalting  its  tone  if  in  any  way  it  has  fallen  below  the 
high  level  of  the  start. 

Enliven  the  Ordinary  Missionary  Meeting  with  special 
music.  There  are  many  noble  missionary  anthems. 
Antiphonal  songs  may  easily  be  arranged  from  such 
missionary  hymns,  for  instance,  as  "  Watchman,  tell 
us  of  the  night,"  which  breaks  up  so  readily  into 
question  and  answer.  Solos  may  be  introduced,  and 
any  good  missionary  hymn  may  be  very  effective  if 
sung  in  this  way. 

The  Missionaries'  Hymns.  —  A  little  pleasant  re- 
search will  bring  out  many  facts  connecting  mission- 
aries with  our  best  hymns.  Some  of  them  were  writ- 
ten by  missionaries.  Some  of  them  have  been  prompted 
by  stirring  events  in  missionary  history.  Many  of 
them  have  been  used  in  great  crises  on  the  mission 
fields,  or  in  the  lives  of  missionary  heroes.  An  even- 
ing of  song  in  which  the  result  of  these  studies  is 
mingled  with  the  singing  of  the  hymns  to  which  they 
relate  would  be  a  profitable  occasion. 

You  Can  Aid  the  Church  Missionary  Meeting  greatly 
by  forming  a  Christian  Endeavor  choir  for  use  on 
such  occasions.  No  parade  need  be  made  of  the  fact. 
The  young  people  will  only  sit  together  in  any  part  of 
the  room  and  sing  with  all  their  might.     It  will  tell. 

A  Missionary  Concert.  —  This  name  is  applied  al- 
ways to  a  "concert  of  prayer"  for  missions.  Why 
not  get  up  a  missionary  concert,  using  the  word  in  its 


MISSIONARY    MUSIC.  4/ 

original  sense  ?  There  are  many  beautiful  missionary 
anthems  and  solos.  Each  could  be  prefaced  with  a 
brief  speech  calling  attention  to  its  lesson.  There  are 
longer  pieces  of  missionary  music  suitable  for  such  an 
occasion.  I  venture  to  name  one  by  Prof.  T.  Martin 
Towne  and  myself,  entitled  "  Sir  Money's  Crusade," 
published  by  Fillmore  Brothers,  Cincinnati. 

Native  Music  will  add  much  to  such  a  concert,  and 
also  to  any  missionary  meeting.  You  may  be  able  to 
get  some  Turk  or  Chinese  or  other  native  of  mission- 
ary lands  to  sing  for  you.  Foreign  instruments  will, 
of  course,  add  to  the  interest. 

Song  Services  in  Prisons  and  Hospitals  are  lines  of 
effort  suitable  for  the  missionary  committee  to  take  up, 
if  you  have  no  special  committee  for  this  blessed  work. 
The  gospel  can  be  sung  in  both  these  places  more 
effectively  than  it  can  be  preached.  The  services  of 
song  at  neighborhood  prayer  meetings  might  also 
come  within  the  province  of  the  missionary  committee, 
if  you  have  no  music  committee. 

An  Outdoor  Song  Service  is  a  piece  of  home  mission- 
ary work  well  worth  attempting.  It  may  be  made  a 
beautiful  prelude  to  the  evening  service,  if  there  are 
grounds  in  front  of  the  church  that  are  suitable  for  it, 
and  it  will  gather  to  that  service  many  that  otherwise 
might  not  come.  But  this  outdoor  song  service  may 
be  held  (proper  permission  being  obtained)  in  any 
part  of  the  city  that  needs  evangelistic  effort.  The 
sweet  hymns,  lifted  on  the  fresh  young  voices,  will 
prove  the  best  of  church  bells,  and  will  draw  together 
a  crowd  anywhere  to  hear  what  your  pastor  may  have 
to  say  to  them.     In  this  outdoor  work  it  is  much  bet- 


48  THE    MISSIOxNARY    MANUAL. 

ter  if  you  can  sing  without  any  book,  looking  straight 
into  the  eyes  of  the  crowd. 

The  Music  Committee  should,  of  course,  work  hand 
in  hand  with  the  missionary  committee  in  all  this, 
provided  you  have  a  music  committee.  Indeed,  much 
of  this  work  would  properly  fall  to  the  music  com- 
mittee, and  is  here  mentioned  only  because  so  few 
societies  dignify  music  by  assigning  it  to  a  special  set 
of  workers. 


MISSIONARY    PRAYERS.  49 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MISSIONARY   PRAYERS. 

Missions  and  Prayer  Go  Hand  in  Hand.  —  Without  a 
sense  of  the  Saviour's  presence,  and  without  constant 
real  communion  with  him,  no  genuine  missionary 
work  was  ever  done.  You  must  gauge  the  success  of 
your  labors,  missionary  committees,  not  by  the  size 
of  your  audience,  not  by  the  spirit  of  your  meetings, 
but  by  the  prayers  they  spur  the  Endeavorers  to 
make  spontaneously  for  the  mission  fields  and  mis- 
sionaries in  which  you  have  been  trying  to  interest 
them.  Believe  with  all  your  heart  that  God  answers 
prayer.  Know  that  the  prayers  of  Christians  —  pray- 
ers and  what  they  incite  us  to  do — are  the  one  thing 
needful  for  the  salvation  of  the  world  ;  God  will  do 
everything  else.  Pray  for  definite  blessings  upon 
particular  men  and  places.  Expect  results.  Follow 
up  your  prayers,  and  recognize  with  gratitude  God's 
kindness  in  answering  them. 

Prayer  in  the  Meeting,  —  Encourage  the  use  of 
names  in  praying  for  missions  in  the  meetings.  After 
some  especially  important  piece  of  news,  let  the 
chairman  ask  some  one  to  offer  prayer  for  the  mis- 
sionary or  the  field  that  has  been  mentioned.  Pray 
often  in  the  meeting  for  the  places  where  your  con- 
tributions have  gone.  The  Yale  Band  proposes  a 
series  of  topics  for  missionary  prayer  —  one  for  each 


50  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

meeting  for  six  months.  If  you  follow  these,  you 
will  bring  before  God  in  prayer  all  of  the  great 
phases  of  missionary  work  and  all  the  mission  fields 
of  the  world.  Silent  prayer  for  some  special  mission- 
ary, or  sentence  prayers  which  take  up  in  turn  the 
particular  needs  of  some  great  mission  field,  are  ex- 
ceedingly helpful. 

A  Concert  of  Prayer.  —  Name  for  each  month  some 
especial  missionary  station,  and  call  for  simultaneous 
prayer  for  that  station  at  a  fixed  time  every  day  during 
the  month.  Let  the  station  know  that  you  are  pray- 
ing for  their  work,  all  of  you.  Of  course  this  station 
will  be  remembered  at  every  meeting  in  many  ways. 
Some  societies  place  on  a  blackboard  the  name  of 
some  missionary  each  week  for  the  same  purpose. 
Do  not,  however,  confuse  the  members  with  too 
many  calls  for  prayer.  The  essential  thing  is  that 
you  expect  results^  and  know  that  God  will  give 
them. 

Individual  Prayer.  —  Every  year  give  each  member  ' 
of  the  society  the  name  of  some  missionary  whom  he 
is  to  consider  his  very  own,  and  whom  he  is  to  re- 
member every  day  in  his  prayers.  Of  course  he  will 
find  out  all  he  can  about  him  and  his  work.  Of 
course,  too,  he  will  write  and  tell  the  missionary 
that  he  is  praying  for  him  daily,  and  this  knowledge 
will  be  to  the  missionary  a  constant  well  of  joy  and 
courage.  Have  you  ever  noticed  how  continually 
missionaries  in  their  letters  are  urging  us  to  pray  for 
them?  It  is  their  one  great  plea,  and  they  are  very 
sincere  in  making  it. 

Historic  Prayers.  —  The  annals  of  missions  are  full 


MISSIONARY    PRAYERS.  5  I 

of  wonderful  answers  to  prayer,  and  the  recitation  of 
some  of  these  would  make  a  magnificent  missionary 
meeting,  besides  spurring  the  members  to  more  zeal 
in  praying  for  missions.  Appoint  each  member  to 
some  missionary  life  or  field  and  ask  him  to  give  at 
the  meeting  a  single  instance,  taken  from  his  subject, 
of  the  proved  power  of  prayer. 


$2  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
MISSIONARY  READING. 

Hand  in  Hand.  —  Missionary  inspiration  and  mission- 
ary information  go  together.  The  way  to  fill  mission- 
ary treasuries  is  to  fill  missionary  heads.  To  read 
Paton's  life  is  half  a  missionary  education !  To 
read  Mackay's  life  is  the  other  half !  It  is  simply  im- 
possible for  a  mind  of  ordinary  earnestness  and 
impressibility  to  peruse  any  one  of  a  dozen  missionary 
biographies  that  might  easily  be  named,  and  not 
henceforth  be  full  of  missionary  enthusiasm.  It  is 
one  of  the  first  duties  of  the  missionary  committees  to 
prove  the  truth  of  this  statement. 

A  Book  Evening.  —  It  would  be  well  to  devote  an 
entire  missionary  meeting  to  the  inspiring  of  interest 
in  missionary  literature.  Get  as  many  different  En- 
deavorers  as  possible  to  tell  about  the  missionary 
books  they  have  read,  and  what  interesting  thing  they 
found  in  each.  Get  the  Sunday-school  librarian  to 
bring  the  missionary  books  from  the  Sunday-school 
library,  show  each,  and  speak  briefly  about  it.  Choose 
bright  passages  from  books  and  magazines,  and  have 
them  read.  Show  a  complete  set  of  sample  copies  of 
the  missionary  magazines  in  which  you  wish  to  inter- 
est the  society.  Close  with  an  address  by  your  pastor 
on  the  great  books  of  missionary  literature  with 
which  every  one  should  be  acquainted. 


MISSIONARY    READING.  53 

Missionary  Libraries.  —  One  of  the  very  best  ways  of 
establishing  and  increasing  missionary  enthusiasm  is 
by  the  establishing  of  missionary  libraries.  Nowa- 
days books  are  so  wonderfully  cheap  that  such  an 
undertaking  is  possible  for  every  society  in  the  land. 
Before  you  decide  that  you  cannot  do  it,  write  to  the 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  and  ask  for 
their  circulars  describing  the  missionary  libraries  they 
have  to  sell.  These  are  all  standard  works,  the  very 
best  and  most  up-to-date,  and  you  will  be  astonished 
to  see  how  trifling  is  their  cost.  Such  a  library,  if  you 
once  get  a  nucleus  and  get  the  Endeavorers  interested 
in  it,  will  grow  almost  without  your  effort.  It  is  proba- 
bly best  to  appoint  as  librarian  some  one  outside  the 
committee,  because  in  this  way  you  increase  the  num- 
ber of  those  interested  in  the  cause. 

To  Start  a  Library.  —  Perhaps  the  best  way  is  to  go 
boldly  to  the  members  with  a  subscription  paper,  and 
ask  them  for  twenty-five-cent  subscriptions,  making  it 
very  plain  that  the  subscriptions  are  by  no  means 
limited  to  that  amount!  You  will  soon  have  enough 
to  buy  a  goodly  number  of  books.  If  you  ask  the 
members  to  give  a  book  apiece,  many  may  wish  to 
have  that  more  individual  share  in  the  new  enterprise 
for  the  Master. 

A  Loan  Library.  —  People  are  likely  to  appreciate 
more  thoroughly  what  they  pay  something  for.  Take 
advantage  of  this  principle  in  your  missionary  work. 
After  you  have  established  the  rnissionary  library, 
charge  five  cents  apiece  for  the  reading  of  the  books, 
and  a  fine  of  a  cent  a  day  whenever  the  books  are  kept 
beyond  two  weeks.     No  one  will  object  to  this  charge, 


54  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

and  thus  you  will  soon  gather  enough  money  for  ad- 
ditions to  the  library. 

A  One-Book  Meeting.  —  Choose  the  best  missionary 
book  you  can  find,  and  get  as  many  Endeavorers  to 
read  it  as  there  are  chapters  in  the  book.  This  will 
take  time,  but  do  it.  Assign  each  new  reader  to  a  dif- 
ferent chapter  of  the  book,  telling  him  that  at  a  future 
missionary  meeting  he  will  be  expected  to  speak  for 
one  minute  on  the  most  interesting  point  of  that  chap- 
ter. You  may  be  preparing  at  the  same  time  for  sev- 
eral of  these  meetings. 

The  Six-Star  Band.  —  Enroll  under  this  name  those 
of  your  society  that  will  promise  to  read  six  mission- 
ary books  during  the  year.  Get  some  one  to  give  a 
talk  on  the  delights  of  missionary  reading,  and  after 
this  talk  make  your  appeal  for  members  of  the  Six- 
Star  Band.  Let  them  choose  their  own  books,  but 
have  a  list  to  suggest  to  them.  Urge  system — the 
reading  of  one  book  every  two  months.  Learn  how 
the  scheme  is  progressing,  and  report  from  time  to 
time  before  the  society,  that  interest  may  be  aroused 
and  new  members  added  to  the  band.  Utilize  this 
reading  in  the  missionary  meetings. 

How  Long?  —  It  is  an  encouragement  to  possible 
readers  of  a  book  if  they  can  know  that  it  will 
not  take  long  to  read  it.  The  missionary  commit- 
tee will  do  well  to  get  a  book  read  through  (by  a  toler- 
ably rapid  reader  !)  before  recommending  it  to  the 
society.  He  will  time  himself,  and  every  one  will  be 
astonished  to  learn  how  short  a  time,  after  all,  will 
suffice  to  read  a  book,  compared  with  the  amount  of 
time  we  spend  in  reading  newspapers  and  magazines. 


MISSIONARY    READING.  55 

Bringing  It  Home  to  Each.  —If  you  want  to  do  es- 
pecially thorough  work,  let  each  member  of  the 
missionary  committee  take  a  group  of  the  Endeav- 
orers  and  try  to  persuade  every  member  of  his  group 
to  read  one  missionary  book,  or  some  good  missionary 
magazine,  each  month.  If  this  is  impossible  at  first, 
satisfy  yourself  with  getting  him  to  read  a  single  bright 
article.     The  appetite  will  grow  with  what  it  feeds  on. 

Fifteen  Minutes  a  Day.  —  If  the  members  of  the 
society  think  it  too  much  to  promise  to  read  one  mis- 
sionary book  every  two  months,  get  them  to  agree  to 
spend  fifteen  minutes  a  day  in  missionary  reading. 
This  will  mean  more  than  half  a  book  a  month,  but 
you  need  not  tell  them  so  !  Obtain  from  each  person 
that  promises  this  a  monthly  report  of  how  the  plan 
is  working,  and  stir  up  things  by  presenting  these 
reports  before  the  society,  of  course  without  mention- 
ing names. 

Book  Reviews.  —  Any  one  will  read  a  book  more 
carefully  if  he  knows  he  is  to  write  or  speak  upon  it 
later.  Therefore,  whenever  you  get  the  Endeavorers 
to  read  missionary  books,  put  them  down  on  later  — 
not  too  distant —  missionary  programmes  for  essays  on 
those  books  ! 

"  To  Be  Continued."  —  One  of  the  most  useful  de- 
vices, if  you  would  arouse  interest  in  any  missionary 
book,  is  to  read  bits  of  it  here  and  there  before  the 
societ}',  always  reading  up  to  some  climax  of  inter- 
est—  and  stopping  before  you  reach  it!  If  this  is 
brightly  done,  you  may  be  sure  that  there  will  be  a 
demand  for  that  book  as  soon  as  it  is  placed  in  the 
Sunday-school  or  the  society  library. 


56  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

A  Loan  Office.  —  Once  a  Christian  Endeavor  social 
was  brightly  used  to  stimulate  interest  in  missionary 
reading.  A  booth  was  mysteriously  curtained  off  and 
labelled  "International  News  Agency  and  Loan 
Office."  All  were  urged  to  call  at  the  office,  and  once 
within  the  solemn  purlieus,  they  were  inveigled  into 
borrowing  missionary  books  and  promising  to  read 
them  through  —  promises  for  which  they  M'ere  ever 
afterward  grateful. 

Ask  Them.  —  A  wise  pastor  once  promoted  interest 
in  missionary  reading  simply  by  asking  each  Endeav- 
orer  to  answer  in  writing  these  three  questions : 
What  kind  of  missionary  reading  do  you  like? 
Where  do  you  find  it?  Would  you  read  more  if  it 
were  brought  to  your  notice  ?  If  the  missionary  com- 
mittee start  out  with  such  a  set  of  inquiries,  they  will 
set  the  members  to  thinking  and  will  find  out  just 
where  they  stand  in  the  matter  of  missionary  reading. 

For  Illustration.  —  Each  member  of  the  missionary 
committee  may  choose  a  missionary  book  some  month 
and  read  it  chiefly  with  an  eye  to  the  prayer-meeting 
topics  of  the  coming  month,  and  in  order  to  find  in  it 
illustrations  and  other  material  suitable  for  use  in 
those  meetings.  Thus  every  meeting  of  the  next 
month  will  be  a  missionary  meeting. 

In  the  Public  Library. —  If  the  public  library  is  ac- 
cessible to  the  society,  by  all  means  make  out  a  list  of 
the  best  missionary  books  contained  in  it,  with  their 
numbers.  Have  the  list  duplicated  on  a  manifolder, 
and  give  a  copy  to  every  member  of  the  society,  with 
an  urging  to  go  through  the  entire  set  of  books,  instead 
of  reading  so  much  fiction.  Be  sure  to  put  on  your 
list  only  interesting  books. 


MISSIONARY    READING.  5/ 

In  the  Sunday-School  Library. —  Probably  your 
Sunday-school  library  contains  some  delightful  mis- 
sionary books.  Probably,  too,  no  one  reads  them. 
Get  the  superintendent's  permission  to  say  a  few 
words  before  the  school  some  Sunday  about  these 
books.  Put  their  numbers  on  the  blackboard,  and  ask 
the  teachers  to  interest  their  scholars  in  them.  Take 
them  out  yourselves  and  lend  them  to  those  that  can 
be  persuaded  to  read  them. 

Call  In  the  Sunday-School. — You  may  be  able  to 
gain  the  help  of  the  Sunday  school  toward  forming  a 
missionary  library  in  this  way.  Ask  each  Sunday- 
school  class  to  add  to  the  Sunday-school  library  one 
missionary  book  a  year  of  their  own  selection.  Of 
course  the  missionary  committee  will  be  ready  to  sug- 
gest good  books.  In  this  way  each  class  will  be  likely 
at  least  to  read  its  own  book,  and  to  tell  every  one  else 
how  good  it  is  ! 

To  Read  Aloud.  —  The  art  of  reading  aloud  is  pass- 
ing away,  now  that  books  are  so  common,  and  family 
interests  so  diversified.  Try  to  restore  it,  and  at  the 
same  time  quicken  missionary  zeal,  by  establishing 
neighborhood  reading  circles.  Get  together  on  Essex 
Street  the  Cadwalladers,  the  Ashendens,  and  the 
Stanleys,  who  will  listen  to  Ruth  Ashenden  as  she 
reads  in  her  clear,  sympathetic  tones  the  beautiful 
story  of  Henry  Martyn.  Assemble  on  Lincoln  Avenue 
the  Partingtons,  Huntleys,  and  Hales,  to  hear  Philip 
Huntley  read  Dr.  Hamlin's  fascinating  "  Life  and 
Times."  These  neighborhood  reading  clubs  will  be 
just  the  thing  for  the  long  winter  evenings,  and  their 
results  may  be  used  in  later  missionary  meetings. 


58  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

The  Encyclopedia. —  If  your  society  can  afford 
it  —  and  more  societies  can  afford  it  than  think  they 
can  —  by  all  means  purchase  a  copy  of  the  admirable 
Enclyclopedia  of  Missions,  published  in  two  volumes 
by  Funk  and  Wagnalls.  It  is  an  expensive  work, 
costing  $12  unless  you  can  get  a  reduction  through 
your  pastor,  but  it  is  worth  every  cent  it  costs,  being 
the  only  full  and  authoritative  compendium  of  the 
world's  missionary  activities.  Its  maps  and  its  thous- 
ands of  interesting  articles  will  give  you  material 
for  missionary  meetings  for  a  decade. 

Pass  Them  On.  —  A  pleasant  device  is  the  following. 
Bind  into  a  home-made  booklet  some  good  missionary 
articles,  including  a  missionary  story  and  a  missionary 
poem  or  two,  with  a, few  bright  paragraphs  to  enliven 
it.  Write  on  the  cover  a  list  of  eight  or  ten  Endeav- 
orers  who  will  pass  the  pamphlet  from  one  to  another 
in  the  order  named,  each  writing  below  his  name  some 
comment  on  the  pamphlet  as  a  whole,  after  he  has 
read  it,  or  on  some  particular  article.  Of  course  this 
plan  may  be  carried  out  as  extensively  as  the  commit- 
tee chooses. 

A  Collection  of  Pamphlets. —  Much  of  the  most  valu- 
able missionary  literature  is  put  in  pamphlets.  Doubt- 
less your  denominational  boards  have  issued  many  of 
these  pamphlets,  and  packed  into  them  a  large  amount 
of  most  interesting  material,  as  well  as  complete  state- 
ments regarding  your  denominational  missionary  en- 
terprises. Many  of  the  pamphlets  are  given  away ; 
others  are  sold  at  a  nominal  cost.  For  a  few  dollars 
you  can  buy  a  little  library  of  them,  not  only  from 
your  board  but  from  all  the  other  great  missionary 


MISSIONARY    READING.  59 

boards  of  the  land.  After  you  have  them,  it  will  add 
much  to  their  life,  if  you  bind  them.  Do  not  bind 
them  together,  but  separately,  and  a  home-made  bind- 
ing in  heavy  paper  will  answer  every  purpose.  And, 
by  the  way,  missionary  almanacs  and  the  yearly 
reports  of  the  missionary  conferences  will  constitute 
an  important  part  of  this  material. 

A  Newspaper  Committee.  —  Much  that  has  a  distinct 
bearing  on  missions  appears  nowadays  in  the  daily 
papers.  To  gather  this  up,  appoint  two  or  three 
young  men  as  a  new^spaper  committee,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  report  at  each  missionary  meeting  what- 
ever they  have  seen  lately  in  their  dailies  that  concerns 
missionary  progress  and  opportunities.  Of  course 
each  young  man  should  have  access  to  a  different 
newspaper. 

The  Use  of  Clippings.  —  It  is  pleasant  and  easy 
work,  this  collecting  of  clippings  from  periodicals  ;  the 
problem  is  to  make  use  of  the  clippings  after  they  are 
collected  !  The  trouble  is  always  twofold  —  the  clip- 
pings are  not  systematically  arranged,  and  they  are 
not  frequently  reviewed,  so  that  one  has  in  mind  his 
various  possessions.  This  subj  ect  is  important  enough 
to  warrant  the  appointment  of  a  clipping  committee, 
to  act  as  assistants  to  the  missionary  committee.  At 
any  rate,  the  missionary  committee  should  place  it 
among  their  most  urgent  duties. 

All  kinds  of  religious  and  secular  periodicals  will 
furnish  material  for  the  collection.  Here  you  will  get 
an  illustrated  article  on  Cuba  ;  next,  a  bright  little 
story  of  missionary  heroism  in  Peru  ;  and  again,  an 
editorial  giving  statistics  of  the  missionary  progress 


60  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

among  the  Syrians.  Now  it  will  be  a  picture  showing 
the  Egyptian  costume,  useful,  possibly,  in  some  future 
missionary  meeting.  Again,  it  will  be  a  newspaper 
map  of  South  Africa.  So  closely  are  all  the  interests 
of  the  world  related  to  missions  that  the  range  of  these 
clippings  is  very  wide. 

For  their  preservation  and  consultation,  the  en- 
velope system  is  the  most  convenient.  Get  a  large 
number  of  stout  manilla  envelopes,  large  enough  to 
hold  m.agazine  articles  and  pictures  without  folding. 
Mark  each  with  the  name  of  the  mission  field  and  the 
country.  You  may  go  further  in  your  classification, 
and  subdivide  China,  for  instance,  into  Chinese 
government,  Chinese  customs,  Chinese  education,  and 
the  like. 

Then,  having  your  clippings,  use  them.  Issue  them 
as  you  would  library  books,  numbering  each  clipping 
and  recording  the  name  of  the  borrower.  See  to  it 
that  every  suitable  clipping  is  at  once  used  in  the  next 
missionary  meeting  that  touches  the  country  to  which 
it  relates.  After  it  has  been  used  in  this  way,  place 
upon  it  a  mark  signifying  that  fact,  so  that  you  can 
distinguish  at  a  glance  what  is  fresh  material,  and 
what  is  not. 

Interest  the  entire  society  in  this  enterprise,  for  in 
no  other  way  can  you  cover  a  wide  circle  of  periodi- 
cals. You  will  soon  find  that  the  older  church  mem- 
bers will  be  glad  to  make  use  of  your  collection  in 
preparing  for  their  own  missionary  meetings,  and  will 
reciprocate  the  favor  by  the  addition  of  valuable  clip- 
pings from  time  to  time. 

A  File  of  Periodicals.  —  I  strongly  recommend  your 


MISSIONARY    READING.  6 1 

society  to  gather  as  complete  files  as  possible  of  all 
the  missionary  periodicals  of  your  denomination,  and 
of  as  many  others  as  you  can.  Very  likely  you  will 
find  in  the  church  those  that  will  be  glad  to  give  their 
old  copies,  for  the  sake  of  getting  rid  of  them.  Home- 
made bindings  will  answer,  if  you  cannot  afford  pro- 
fessional work,  and  they  should  be  bound  in  yearly 
volumes.  Then  they  should  be  placed  in  some  case 
convenient  of  access  to  all  the  workers.  A  card  cata- 
logue of  their  contents  should  be  prepared  by  the 
committee.  The  preparation  of  this  will  be  in  itself  a 
valuable  missionary  training,  and  will  furnish  occupa- 
tion for  many  pleasant  committee  evenings. 

One  to  a  Periodical,  —  To  stimulate  interest  in  the 
missionary  periodicals,  appoint  one  Endeavorer  a 
special  committee  on  this  missionary  periodical,  an- 
other on  a  second,  another  on  a  third,  and  so  on,  until 
you  have  covered  all  the  missionary  periodicals  of 
your  denomination,  as  well  as  one  or  two  general  ones. 
These  members  will  be  called  upon  at  regular  inter- 
vals to  report  interesting  items  from  their  magazines 
and  papers.  It  would  be  well  to  make  up  at  least  one 
missionary  meeting  during  the  year  almost  entirely  of 
such  reports. 

Subscription  Agents.  —  Your  missionary  committee 
will  do  most  important  service  in  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions if  they  will  make  it  their  business  to  institute  a 
thorough  canvass  of  the  community  each  year,  for  sub- 
scriptions to  the  missionary  periodicals  of  the  denom- 
ination, and  to  such  general  periodicals  as  The  Mis- 
sionary Review  of  the  World.  Get  a  full  set  of 
sample  copies.     You  can  sometimes  obtain    bundles 


62  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

of  samples  for  free  distribution.  Learn  what  club 
rates  you  can  get  with  other  periodicals  which  your 
people  may  be  taking.  Go  into  the  work  as  earnestly 
as  if  you  were  to  receive  a  large  commission  or  a  fine 
premium.  You  will  receive  the  best  of  premiums  — 
God's  blessing  for  helpful  service. 

The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World.  —  This  chapter 
would  not  be  complete  without  mention  of  this  splen- 
did aid  to  all  missionary  workers.  Your  first  duty  is 
to  see  that  your  denominational  missionary  magazines 
are  taken  liberally  in  the  society;  but  in  addition  to 
this  you  should  have  in  the  society  at  least  one  copy 
of  the  magazine  whose  scope  is  the  missionary  activ- 
ities of  all  denominations  and  nations.  A  file  of  this 
magazine  from  the  beginning  would  be  an  inexhaus- 
tible mine  of  missionary  lore. 


MISSIONARY    STUDY    CLASSES.  63 


CHAPTER   VIIL 

MISSIONARY  STUDY  CLASSES. 

Easily  Possible.  —  A  missionary  study  class  is  easily 
within  the  reach  of  any  Christian  Endeavor  society. 
Do  not  start  with  too  ambitious  plans,  and  do  not  wait 
for  large  numbers.  Begin  with  few  members  -and 
with  tasks  that  are  not  difficult,  and  confidently  count 
on  experience  to  increase  your  capacity  for  study  and 
enlarge  your  numbers.  Even  though  no  more  than 
two  of  the  society  are  willing  to  undertake  this  work, 
they  can  form  a  study  class  by  themselves,  and  they 
will  be  likely  to  get  quite  as  much  good  from  it  as 
they  would  if  the  class  were  larger ! 

The  Best  Plan  for  a  missionary  study  class  I  have 
been  able  to  devise  is  the  following.  It  has  been  put 
in  operation  in  many  classes  all  over  the  country,  and 
all  that  have  tried  it  have  testified  to  its  working  qual- 
ities.    The  constitution  is  self-explanatory :  — 

CONSTITUTION. 

Article  I.  — Name. 

This  organization  will  be  called  the  Christian  Endeavor  Mission 

Club  of 

Note.  —  It  will  be  pleasant  for  the  club  to  choose  a  chapter  name. 
The  clubs  usually  name  themselves  after  some  famous  missionary  in 
whose  work  their  church  has  an  especial  interest.  A  Baptist  club,  for 
instance,  might  call  itself  the  Carey  or  Judson  chapter  ;  Methodists 
might  organize  Bishop  Taylor  chapters  ;  a  Presbyterian  church  might 
have  a  Paton  chapter  ;  a  Congregationalist  church,  a  Coan  chapter,  etc. 


64  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

Article  II. —  Purpose. 

The  purpose  of  this  cUib  is  to  read  missionary  boolcs,  and  to  gain 
a  general  knowledge  of  the  history  of  missionary  work  of  all  de- 
nominations, and  a  full  and  definite  knowledge  of  the  missionary 
work  of  our  own  denomination  in  all  the  world. 

Article  III.  — Work. 
The  club  will  follow  some  definite  course  of  missionary  reading 
and  study,  to  be  laid  down  by  its  executive  committee,  in  consulta- 
tion with  the  pastor. 

Article  IV.  — Organization. 
The  membership  of  this  club  shall  consist  of  all  young  persons 
interested  in  missions,  who  expect  to  attend  most  of  the  meetings, 
and  to  take  part  as  their  turn  comes  in  all  the  work  of  the  club. 

Note.  —  Many  clubs  may  wish  to  drop  the  word  "  young  "  from  the 
foregoing,  and  admit  older  persons  as  well.  It  is  especially  urged  that 
no  drones  shall  be  admitted.  It  is  not  best  to  seek  large  numbers  in 
order  to  get  an  audience.  Two  earnest  workers  make  a  better  club 
than  two  hundred  that  come  merely  to  listen.  Begin  with  few,  if  need  be, 
but  those  that  are  genuine  workers,  that  know  the  value  of  a  knowledge 
of  missions,  and  are  willing  to  give  time  as  well  as  energy  to  obtain  it ; 
those,  too,  that  are  willing  to  take  their  turn  in  serving  in  each  of  the 
offices,  and  doing  all  kinds  of  club  work. 

Article  V.  — Meetings. 
This  club  will  meet  every  week  on    ...     .    evening  at  .    .    . 
o'clock,  at  the  house  of  one  of  its  members. 

Note.  —  In  some  communities  it  maybe  best  to  have  one  regular 

Elace  of  meeting.     Ordinarily,  the  interests  of  good  fellowship  would 
e  promoted  by  meeting  from  house  to  house. 

Article  VI.  — Officers. 

The  officers  of  this  society  shall  be  a  president,  vice-president, 
secretary,  and  treasurer,  elected  for  one  year,  and  performing  the 
usual  duties  assigned  to  such  officers.  These  four  constitute  the 
executive  committee. 

The  club  also  has  nine  peculiar  offices.  To  the  latter  offices  the 
president  will  assign  different  persons  each  month.  These  officers 
are:  one  reader,  two  reporters,  one  statistician,  one  examiner,  one 
geographer,  one  historian  or  biographer,  one  traveller,  and  one  re- 
viewer. 


MISSIONARY    STUDY    CLASSES.  65 

Note.  —  It  will  be  especially  necessary  to  get  a  president  that  knows 
the  importance  of  keeping  all  the  exercises  to  their  time,  beginning 
promptly,  making  things  run  by  clock-work. 

The  treasurer  should  be  good  at  collecting  the  dues,  when  the  books 
are  purchased  by  systematic  collections. 

The  secretary  should  send  to  the  members  notices  of  all  meetings. 

It  will  hi  the  reader's  business  to  read  before  the  club  the  portion  of 
the  biography  or  missionary  history  assigned  for  the  meeting.  He 
should,  of  course,  read  this  over  beforenand.  In  the  rare  cases  where 
it  is  too  long  for  the  time,  he  should  condense  it,  reading  the  most  in- 
teresting portions,  and  giving  a  synopsis  of  tlie  remainder. 

The  two  reporters  will  present  recent  missionary  news.  One  of  them 
will  deal  with  the  country  under  discussion,  and  the  other  with  the  rest 
of  the  world.     On/j/  a  few  notes  should  be  presented  at  each  77ieeting. 

The  statistician  will  give  any  missionary  statistics  connected  with  the 
country  studied.  He  will  git  best  results  if  he  presents  only  one  or  two 
facts  each  week,  emphasizing  them,  and  illustrating  them  with  diagrams. 

The  geographer  will  speak  of  the  size  of  the  country,  its  population, 
languages,  etc.  The  traveller  will  tell  about  the  character  and  the 
habits  of  its  people.  Both  the  latter  officers  will  do  well  to  present 
only  one  or  two  facts  at  a  time, —  no  more  than  can  readily  be  carried 
in  the  memory. 

The  historian  will  give  a  brief  history  of  the  progress  of  missions  in 
the  country. 

If  the  history  of  missions  is  the  basis  of  study,  the  historian  becomes 
the  reader,  and  in  his  place  the  club  should  have  a  biographer,  who  pre- 
sents at  each  meeting  a  condensed  biography,  giving  the  salient  and 
interesting  facts  regarding  some  eminent  missionary.  Where  the  club 
is  reading  a  biography,  the  biographer,  of  course,  is  the  reader. 

The  examiner  will  ask  questions,  at  the  end  of  each  session,  on  the 
points  brought  out  in  each  session.  The  reviewer  will  ask  questions  on 
tiie  mo;t  important  points  brought  out  in  the  preceding  session.  The 
work  of  the  examiner  and  reviewer  is  of  especial  importance.  If  ques- 
tions show  that  what  has  been  heard  and  told  is  not  fixed  in  the  memory, 
better  repeat  it  at  another  meeting  than  permit  it  to  go  in  at  one  ear 
and  out  at  the  other. 

The  president,  vice-president,  secretary,  and  treasurer  may,  if  the  club 
is  small,  hold,  also,  any  four  of  the  nine  special  offices,  and  small  clubs 
will  find  it  necessary  to  give  to  several  of  the  members  more  than  one 
office. 

Article  VII.  — Programme. 
The  order  of  exercises  for  a  meeting  of  a  Christian  Endeavor 
Mission  Club  may  be  the  following:  — 

1.  Singing  of  a  missionary  hymn. 

2.  Business. 

3.  Sentence  prayers  for  the  progress  of  missions. 

4.  Bible  quotations  bearing  on  missions. 

5.  Questions  by  the  reviewer. 

6.  Report  of  the  geographer. 


66  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

7.  Reading  of  the  missionary  biography  or  history. 

8.  Report  of  the  traveller. 

9.  Report  of  the  historian  or  biographer. 

10.  Report  of  the  statistician. 

11.  Report  of  the  reporter  on  the  country  studied. 

12.  Report  of  the  general  reporter. 

13.  Questions  of  the  examiner,  and  general  conversation. 

14.  Closing  prayer. 

15.  Closing  song. 

Note.— This  programme  cannot  successfully  be  carried  out  in  less 
than  one  hour  and  a  half.  Five  minutes  will  be  enough  for  all  officers 
except  the  reader,  and  one  half-hour  should  be  devoted  to  the  reading. 
If  the  club  cannot  give  an  hour  and  a  half  to  tlie  meetings,  then  reports 
hom/oi^r  of  the  special  officers  only  should  be  heard  at  one  meeting, 
and  the  remaining  four  should  be  heard  at  the  next  meeting,  the  reader, 
of  course,  working  at  each  meeting. 

Article  VIII.  — Books. 

Note.  — This  article  must  be  formulated  by  the  individual  clubs, 
accordmg  to  the  plans  they  adopt  for  obtaining  the  books. 

The  treasurer  should  take  charge  of  tlie  purchase  of  books.  He  may 
buy  them  anywhere  ;  or,  if  more  convenient,  lie  can  always  obtain  them 
from  tlie  United  States  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  as  cheaply  as  in 
any  bookstore  in  the  country. 

A  great  deal  of  the  literature  used  by  the  clubs  should,  of  course,  be 
obtained  from  the  denominational  missif)nary  boards.  Each  club 
should  obtain  from  these  boards  a  complete  list  of  the  books  and 
pamphlets  they  have  for  the  use  of  their  churches.  Many  of  these 
pamphlets  may  be  obtained  free. 

The  club  should  subscribe  to  the  missionary  periodicals  of  its  own 
denomination,  and  pass  these  about  among  the  members. 

it  is  very  important  tliat  the  club  have  access,  at  eacli  meeting,  to  a 
good  set  of  maps,  a  gazetteer,  an  up-to-date  dictionary,  and  an  encyclo- 
pedia. These  are  cumbrous  books  to  carry  around,  and  for  this  reason 
only  it  is  better  for  the  club  to  meet  uniformly  at  one  place. 

Eacii  member  should,  of  course,  contribute  to  the  general  use  of  the 
club  whatever  books  or  magazines  he  may  possess  bearing  on  the  sub- 
ject under  discussion. 

This  is  a  pretty  thorough-going  scheme,  and  it  may 
be  necessary  to  modify  it,  especially  at  the  start. 
You  may  not  wish  to  hold  meetings  oftener  than  once 
a  fortnight.  You  may  prefer  to  dispense  with  the  ser- 
vices of  the  traveller,  the  historian,  and  their  com. 
fades.     In  other  ways  you  may  wish  to  simplify  the 


MISSIONARY    STUDY    CLASSES.  6"] 

plan.  It  is  given  here,  with  that  understanding,  in  its 
most  complete  form.  The  points  to  be  insisted  on, 
however,  are  regularity  in  the  meetings  and  system  in 
the  work.  Definite  accomplishment,  although  it  may 
be  slight,  is  quite  certain  to  create  a  desire  for  more, 
while  haphazard  work  is  always  unsatisfactory  and 
dissatisfying. 

The  Leader  of  the  study  class  may  well  be' a  perma- 
nent official,  if  some  experienced  missionary  student, 
with  tact,  energy,  and  attractiveness,  can  be  found 
willing  to  undertake  this  delightful  and  important 
work.  But  if  no  permanent  leader  can  be  found, 
why,  Christian  Endeavorers  are  used  to  carrying  on 
their  work  without  much  help.  You  can  take  turns 
in  the  leadership,  and,  thus  divided,  neither  the  labor 
nor  the  responsibility  will  be  too  burdensome. 

The  Members  of  the  study  class  should  be —  as  will 
be  understood  —  those  that  are  not  afraid  of  a  little 
work,  but  are  in  earnest  in  this  matter  of  missions. 
There  will  be  no  objection,  however,  to  permitting  the 
attendance  of  visitors  who  will  come  to  listen  and 
who  may  catch  the  contagion  of  zeal. 

The  Plan  of  Study  may  follow  the  divisions  of 
countries,  and  may  take  up  one  mission  field  after  an- 
other, reading  such  books  as  "The  Neglected  Con- 
tinent "  for  Africa,  "  Chinese  Characteristics "  for 
China,  "The  Cross  in  the  Land  of  the  Trident"  for 
India,  "An  American  Missionary  in  Japan"  for  the 
Sunrise  Empire,  and  so  on.  Or  it  may  proceed  along 
biographical  lines,  reading  one  great  missionary  life 
for  each  country,  such  as  Carey's  for  India,  Gardiner's 
for  South  America,  Paten's  for  the  South  Seas,  Liv 


68  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

ingstone's  for  Africa,  Gilmour's  for  China,  Neesima's 
for  Japan,  Whitman's  for  America,  Hamlin's  for 
Turkey.  Or  the  work  may  be  a  series  of  studies  of 
the  missionary  societies,  their  fields  and  their  accom- 
plishments. Or  at  times  it  may  deal  with  current 
topics  in  relation  to  missions.  General  biographies 
are  best  to  begin  with,  and  then  books  about  the 
countries  as  a  whole. 

The  Books  for  the  study  class  should  be  purchased 
by  contribution  from  all  the  members.  If  this  plan 
of  reading  aloud  is  pursued,  one  book  will  last  for 
several  months.  The  members  of  the  class  may  pre- 
fer to  buy  the  books  in  turn,  each  to  keep  for  his  own 
the  book  he  has  bought.  Or  the  books  may  be  given 
to  the  society  to  serve  as  the  nucleus  of  a  missionary 
library,  or  to  the  Sunday-school  library.  Generally 
speaking,  short  books  should  be  chosen,  and  models 
for  this  purpose  are  the  missionary  biographies  and 
many  other  missionary  books  published  by  the  Flem- 
ing H.  Revell  Company,  and  the  publications  issued 
by  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  their  study 
course. 

Essays  should  be  required  at  every  meeting,  and 
they  should  bear  upon  the  chapters  of  the  book  to 
be  read  at  that  meeting,  being  enlargements  of  some 
point  made  there,  or  discussions  suggested  by  them. 
These  essays — or,  at  any  rate,  some  of  them  —  should 
afterward  be  utilized  in  the  regular  society  missionary 
meeting.  Following  the  reading  from  the  book,  too, 
there  should  always  be  given  opportunity  for  ques- 
tions and  discussions  aroused  by  what  has  been  read. 

Current  Events  should  be  reported  at  each  meeting 


MISSIONARY    STUDY    CLASSES.  69 

of  the  club.  The  best  plan  is  to  assign  one  member 
to  a  country  and  obtain  reports  from  each  in  turn, 
this  week  from  Burma,  the  next  from  South  America, 
etc.  Different  persons  should  report  for  the  home 
field  in  the  same  way,  and  at  every  meeting.  A 
third  report  which  might  be  given  at  each  meeting  is 
from  one  of  the  mission  boards  of  your  denomina- 
tion, these  being  divided  among  the  members,  that 
they  may  keep  track  of  their  condition  and  work. 
Prayers  for  missions  should  also  come  in  each  meet- 
ing, as  well  as  the  reciting  of  memory  missionary  verses 
from  the  Bible.  The  work  of  each  m.eeting  should 
begin  with  a  review  of  last  week's  work,  and  end  with 
an  examination  on  the  day's  work.  The  review  should 
be  oral,  and  the  examination  may  often  be  written, 
although  it  should  be  very  brief.  At  the  close  of 
each  book  or  .course  of  study  a  thorough  examination 
should  be  given,  one  entire  meeting  being  occupied 
with  the  review  and  the  closing  examination. 


JO  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER    IX. 
MISSIONARY  LETTERS. 

Helpful  all  Around.  —  Few  bits  of  writing  go 
through  Uncle  Sam's  mail  that  do  more  good  than 
letters  to  missionaries.  They  serve  to  make  missions 
vivid  to  the  writer  as  nothing  else  will.  If  written  in 
a  sincere,  Christian  spirit,  they  are  of  supreme  value 
to  the  missionary,  and  hearten  him  for  his  work  as 
perhaps  nothing  else  can.  A  five-cent  postage  stamp 
affords  us  an  easy  and  pleasant  way  of  obeying  to 
some  extent  the  Master's  command,  "  Go  ye  into  all 
the  world."  It  can  carry  a  very  real  piece  of  our- 
selves to  China,  Madagascar,  where  we  will.  Let  us 
have  more  consecrated  postage-stamps. 

The  Use  of  Missionary  Letters.  —  For  this  purpose 
societies  should  band  together  more  than  they  do, 
and  pass  around  good  missionary  letters,  that  the 
work  of  the  missionary  may  go  as  far  as  possible. 
The  missionary  committees  of  the  same  denomination 
in  a  city  or  in  neighboring  small  towns  should  co- 
operate to  this  end.  I  do  not  advise  the  manifolding 
of  missionary  letters.  That,  to  me,  takes  all  the  per- 
sonality out  of  them.  It  is  better  to  pass  them 
around  ;  and  be  sure  to  send  with  them  the  foreign 
envelope,  with  the  stamp  and  post-mark !  As  these 
letters  go  to  the  various  societies,  how  delightful  it 
would  be  if  in  each  society  some  member  should  be 
instructed  to  write  to  the  missionary. 


MISSIONARY    LETTERS.  /I 

Be  Thoughtful.  —  Missionaries  are  the  busiest  peo- 
ple in  the  world — more  busy  even  than  editors. 
There  is  no  end  to  the  things  they  may  be  doing,  and 
they  work  under  great  pressure  of  responsibility  and 
opportunity.  Moreover,  they  are  not  chosen  because 
of  their  ability  to  write,  and  though,  of  course, 
since  they  are  persons  of  unusual  intelligence,  there 
is  among  them  more  than  the  average  number  of 
good  and  quick  letter-writers,  yet  we  must  remember 
that  to  some  of  them,  as  to  us,  letter-writing  may  be  a 
great  task,  and  we  must  be  careful  how  we  require  it 
of  them.  In  entering  into  correspondence  with  a 
missionary,  always  express  plainly  your  sense  of  these 
facts,  and  tell  him  that  you  will  understand  why  no 
answer  comes,  if  none  does  come,  and  be  entirely  sat- 
isfied. Moreover,  assure  him  that  any  letter  he  may 
have  time  to  send  (and  you  may  be  sure  that  he  will 
answer  if  he  can)  will  be  used  fully  for  the  arousing 
of  new  missionary  zeal. 

Be  Regular.  —  What  is  not  done  systematically  is 
likely  not  to  be  done  at  all.  Set  before  you  a  definite 
aim  in  this  letter-writing.  Is  one  missionary  letter  a 
month  from  each  Endeavorer  too  much  to  hope  for? 
The  letter  may  take  half  an  hour  to  write  (long  letters 
are  not  needed).  Is  that  too  much  time  to  give  each 
month  to  this  blessed  personal  work  for  the  Master  ? 

A  Letter  Evening.  —  When  your  plans  are  in  full 
operation,  you  will  wish  to  have  an  occasional  letter 
evening,  in  the  course  of  which  every  7nember  of  the 
society  will  read  extracts  from  the  most  interesting 
missionary  letter  he  has  received  during  the  last  six 
months.     Of  course  this  will  not  mean  that  you  have 


^2  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

obtained  so  many  letters  from  the  missionaries  them- 
selves ;  that  would  be  too  great  a  burden  upon  them. 
Let  a  large  part  of  your  correspondence  be  with  the 
Christian  Endeavorers.  If  you  have  not  enough  let- 
ters to  fill  out  the  entire  evening,  read  what  you  have 
and  intersperse  items  about  each  missionary  station 
heard  from. 

Not  Always  to  Missionaries.  —  It  will  aid  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  many  ways  if,  instead  of  always  writ- 
ing to  the  missionary,  you  get  into  correspondence 
with  the  native  Christians.  Usually  the  missionaries 
will  have  to  write  their  letters  for  them  at  their  dicta- 
tion, but  it  will  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  natives, 
help  the  missionaries  get  in  touch  with  them,  and 
give  you  some  of  the  most  delightful  letters  you  ever 
read,  besides  giving  you  an  opportunity  to  testify  of 
Christ  to  his  new-found  brethren  over  the  seas.  Es- 
pecially, write  to  the  native  Christian  Endeavorers. 
What  a  stimulus  it  will  be  to  their  work,  and  to  yours, 
to  emphasize  in  this  way  the  sense  of  our  world-wide 
brotherhood  !  Every  country  now  has  its  hundreds 
of  native  societies,  and  each  foreign  land,  of  course, 
has  its  strange  Endeavor  customs.  Learn  these 
plans ;  they  may  well  be  worth  transplanting.  And 
in  exchange,  tell  them  what  your  own  society  is 
doing. 

Christian  Endeavor  under  Difficulties. — There  are 
places  where  Christian  Endeavor  especially  needs 
the  help  of  your  ink-stands.  One  of  them  is  in  pris- 
ons, and  the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  prison 
Christian  Endeavor  societies  should  spur  us  to  gener- 
ous letter-writing  for  the  benefit  of  our  brothers  in 


MISSIONARY    LETTERS.  73 

bonds.  The  gracious  custom  has  sprung  up  of  writ- 
ing them  hearty  personal  letters  at  Christmas  time 
and  at  Easter,  and  these  letters  do  a  world  of  good. 
Equally  prized  and  equally  helpful  are  letters  to  the 
Endeavorers  on  board  ship,  to  the  societies  in  asy- 
lums, and  in  other  places  where  Christian  Endeavor 
is  maintained  only  with  the  exercise  of  a  heroism 
many  of  us  know  little  about. 

The  Home  Fields.  —  It  may  seem  more  interesting 
to  receive  a  letter  from  Yokohama  than  from  Spring- 
field, Mont,  (if  there  is  a  Springfield  in  Montana) ; 
but  if  you  are  patriotic,  you  will  not  neglect  the  home 
field,  and  you  will  soon  come  to  think  quite  as  much 
of  your  home-mission  letters  as  of  the  foreign.  In- 
deed, as  this  correspondence  can  be  conducted  in  the 
language  familiar  to  both  parties,  it  can  be  made 
much  more  interesting  and  valuable. 

A  Letter  Committee.  —  In  view  of  all  these  possibil- 
ities, do  you  wonder  that  I  advocate  the  formation  of 
a  letter  committee  in  every  society?  The  work  of 
letter-writing  should  be  under  the  direction  of  the 
missionary  committee,  but  they  need  much  assistance, 
and  the  society  needs  to  give  it.  The  letter  commit- 
tee may  be  different  each  month,  and  should  be 
chosen  by  the  missionary  committee,  who  will  ap- 
point one  of  its  own  members  as  chairman. 


74  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER   X. 

MISSIONARY  MUSEUMS. 

Their  Advantage.  —  As  will  be  seen  from  the  preced- 
ing chapters,  missionary  meetings  need  for  their  best 
success  a  large  amount  of  illustrative  material,  and 
since  our  membership  is  changing  and  the  work  ever 
the  same,  it  will  greatly  promote  the  missionary  cause 
if  the  material  gathered  by  one  set  of  workers  can  be 
handed  down  to  the  next.  It  is  human  nature,  when 
one  has  made  a  good  map  or  obtained  some  interest- 
ing object  from  foreign  lands,  to  wish  to  keep  it,  if^ 
only  as  a  pleasant  souvenir  ;  but  the  spirit  of  the  early 
disciples,  who  had  all  things  in  common,  is  the  mission- 
ary spirit,  and  I  am  sure  that  missionary  workers,  as 
soon  as  the  need  is  clearly  shown  them,  will  be  glad 
to  establish  in  a  missionary  museum  a  permanent 
fund  of  missionary  helps. 

The  Room  in  which  these  objects  are  preserved 
should  be  the  same  from  year  to  year,  if  possible.  It 
is  best  some  room  in  the  church  building  or  in  the 
parsonage  next  door,  but  the  museum  may  be  set  up 
in  any  private  house. 

Its  Contents  will  comprise  whatever  may  be  of  in- 
terest in  the  missionary  meeting  or  suggestive  to 
coming  missionary  committees.  There  will  be  curios, 
of  course,  from  all  lands,  and  especially  foreign  cos- 
tumes.    It  will  be  hardest  to  get  the  members  to  part 


MISSIONARY    MUSEUMS.  75 

with  these,  but  they  will  be  most  useful  in  carrying  on 
the  work.  There  will  be  articles  of  use  or  ornament 
from  all  around  the  world,  idols,  samples  of  food, 
commercial  products.  The  flags  of  the  various  na- 
tions, for  use  in  decorating,  will  be  kept  here,  and  will 
often  be  required.  Missionary  mottoes,  diagrams 
that  have  been  found  effective,  maps  and  charts  of  all 
kinds,  will  here  be  preserved.  The  essays  that  have 
been  presented  in  missionary  meetings  will  be  placed 
on  file  here  —  or  at  least  copies  of  them — together 
with  the  reports  of  all  former  missionary  committees. 
Unless  you  wish  to  place  the  missionary  library  in  the 
society  meeting-room,  here  you  will  put  your  files  of 
missionary  magazines  and  your  collection  of  mission- 
ary books  and  pamphlets. 

Arrange  the  Museum  carefully,  placing  in  one  com- 
partment everything  from  one  country.  Provide  a 
neat  and  complete  catalogue  of  whatever  you  have. 
If  duplicate  copies  of  the  catalogue  can  be  prepared 
by  a  copying-machine,  they  will  prove  very  useful. 

Interest  People  in  the  Museum,  especially  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  you  will  soon  find  treasures  floating  in 
upon  you  from  all  over  the  world.  There  is  no 
reason,  either,  why  you  should  not  spend  a  little 
money  upon  it,  since  it  is  to  be  used  to  make  money 
for  the  Lord,  and  a  few  dollars  laid  out  in  foreign  cos- 
tumes not  easily  obtainable  otherwise  might  prove  a 
fine  investment. 

Local  Unions,  of  course,  may  do  this  work  far  better 
than  individual  societies,  and  wherever  possible  the 
missionary  museum  should  be  a  union  affair.  It  will 
then  be  placed  in  some  central  locality,  and  be  given 


*^6  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

in  charge  of  a  union  officer.  It  may  become  a  very- 
large  and  important  collection,  and  if  care  is  exercised 
in  appointing  missionary  meetings  on  different  nights, 
or,  if  they  are  on  the  same  night,  in  seeing  that  the 
subjects  are  different,  there  need  never  be  confusion 
in  the  use  of  it. 


MISSIONARY    SOCIALS.  // 


CHAPTER   XI. 

MISSIONARY  SOCIALS. 

All  Things  to  All  Men.  —  The  shrewd  missionary 
worker  at  home  will  imitate  the  wise  men  that  are  at 
work  on  the  missionary  fields :  he  will  not  wait  for 
men  to  come  to  him  to  learn  about  missions,  but  he 
will  go  to  them  ;  and  he  will  not  present  his  subject 
only  in  one  stereotj'ped  way,  but  in  as  many  ways  as 
he  can  think  of.  Especially,  he  will  take  advantage 
of  the  interest  in  play  which  all  healthy  young  folks 
feel,  and  will  carry  on,  now  and  then,  a  missionary 
social.  The  hard-worked  social  committee  will  be 
very  glad  to  resign  their  post  for  the  occasion,  and 
allow  the  missionary  committee  to  run  a  social  as  they 
please.  The  following  brief  accounts  deal  with  types, 
and  do  not  pretend  to  be  exhaustive.  For  instance, 
the  idea  of  a  "  Hindoo  Social "  may  be  applied  to  any 
missionary  country,  and  so  with  most  of  the  e:ocials 
described.  Thus  these  plans  are  susceptible  of  many 
applications. 

A  Foreign  Games  Social. —  By  correspondence  with 
missionaries,  by  conversation  with  travellers,  or  from 
books,  get  a  collection  of  the  games  of  missionary 
countries,  and  devote  an  evening  to  playing  them, 
interspersing  the  games  with  short  missionary  ad- 
dresses. Here  is  a  sample  game  from  Japan  :  Place 
the  Endeavorers  in  two  long  lines,  facing  each  other. 


yS  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

The  leaders  step  forward  and  say  together,  "  One,  two, 
three!"  With  the  "three!"  each  thrusts  forward 
simultaneously  one  hand,  with  the  palm  flat,  or  with 
the  fist  closed,  or  with  only  two  fingers  extended.  If 
both  have  the  same  gesture,  it  is  a  tie,  and  the  per- 
formance must  be  repeated  ;  but  if  A  has  closed  his 
fist,  he  has  represented  a  stone  ;  and  if  B  has  his  palm 
extended,  he  has  represented  paper,  and  is  victorious, 
as  paper  can  wrap  up  stone.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
B  had  extended  his  fingers,  representing  scissors,  A 
would  have  been  victor,  because  stone  spoils  scissors. 
Scissors  cuts  paper ^  and  so  is  victorious  over  it.  The 
conquered  player  steps  out  of  the  line,  while  No.  2  in 
each  row  tries  his  fortune.  So  it  goes  on  down  the 
lines ;  then  begins  at  the  head  again  with  those  that 
are  left,  and  continues  until  one  side  is  wiped  out. 

A  Curio  Social.  —  Interest  all  the  members  of  the 
society  and  their  friends  in  gathering  every  possible 
article  from  foreign  lands,  especially  those  in  which 
your  church  has  missionaries  at  work.  Arrange  these 
on  tables,  or  in  prettily  hung  booths,  in  each  of  which 
there  may  preside  a  young  woman  dressed  in  the  cos- 
tume of  the  country,  and  ready  to  explain  whatever  is 
on  her  table.  The  Turkish  room  may  have  Turkish 
coffee  to  regale  visitors;  the  India  room  may  treat 
them  to  curry ;  the  Chinese  room,  to  tea  or  to  lichee 
nuts,  and  so  on.  After  all  have  passed  around  among 
the  tables,  call  the  assembly  to  order,  and  let  some 
competent  person  give  a  lecture  on  the  curios,  telling 
about  the  strange  customs  they  illustrate,  and  bring- 
ing in  many  a  plea  for  missions  by  the  way.  Close 
with  a  missionary  hymn. 


MISSIONARY    SOCIALS.  79 

A  Cook's  Tour.  —  To  carry  on  a  Cook's  tour,  and  yet 
not  leave  town,  first  choose  the  country  in  which  you 
will  journey,—  say,  China.  Next  gather  every  possi- 
ble article  illustrating  that  country,  and  especially 
pictures  of  all  sorts,  photographs  preferred.  Hang 
these  around  the  room,  and  place  the  objects  —  carv- 
ings, idols,  pottery,  vases,  dresses,  and  the  like  —  on 
tables.  Divide  these  things  uniformly  over  the  room, 
and  place  in  each  section  of  the  room  a  tourist  con- 
ductor, who  will  know  all  about  the  objects  and  pict- 
ures irf his  section.  Let  the  Endeavorers  wander  around 
as  they  wash  until  all  are  there.  Then  divide  them 
into  as  many  groups  as  you  have  tourist  conductors, 
send  each  group  to  one  section  of  the  room,  where  the 
conductor  will  explain  everything;  then,  at  the  tap  of 
a  bell,  let  the  groups  pass  to  the  sections  next  in  order, 
and  so  on,  until  the  entire  series  of  exhibits  has  been 
visited. 

A  Ceremony  Social.  —  This  form  of  entertainment  is 
very  amusing  and  instructive.  It  requires  costumes 
and  a  pretty  good  knowledge  of  foreign  customs,  — 
but  nowadays  both  can  be  obtained,  if  one  has  intelli- 
gence and  knows  how  to  use  books.  The  ceremonies 
best  suited  to  representation  are  a  Turkish  wedding, 
a  Japanese  ceremonial  call,  a  Chinese  tea,  a  Moham- 
medan salutation,  worship  before  a  Buddhist  shrine, 
and  the  like. 

A  Missionary  Quiz.  —  The  scope  of  the  missionary 
quiz  must  be  announced  several  weeks  beforehand, 
that  the  members  may  study  up.  It  is  best  conducted 
by  the  pastor,  who  will  manage  it  in  the  same  way  as 
the  old-fashioned  spelling  bee,  —  only,  instead  of  re- 


8o  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

quiring  the  victims  to  spell  our  absurd  English  words, 
he  will  ask  them  questions  in  missionary  history  and 
other  missionary  facts.  If  the  sides  are  chosen  three 
or  four  weeks  in  advance,  the  leaders  may  be  trusted 
to  see  that  the  members  of  their  respective  sides  are 
well  posted  before  the  evening  arrives.  Confine  the 
questions  to  one  country  or  one  missionary  board. 
It  might  be  well  to  give  a  good  missionary  book  to 
the  victor,  but  this  should  be  a  surprise. 

Who  Am  I?  —  Each  Endeavorer,  as  he  enters,  re- 
ceives, pinned  upon  his  back,  the  name  of  a  mission- 
ary. He  is  to  find  out  what  missionary  he  represents 
by  conversing  with  those  he  meets.  They  will  talk 
with  him  as  if  he  were  the  missionary  whose  name  he 
bears,  but  of  course  without  calling  the  name.  He 
will  do  the  same  for  them.  When  one  has  guessed 
who  he  is,  the  slip  of  paper  is  transferred  to  the  front 
of  his  coat.  This  game  will  not  go  well  unless  the 
names  of  the  missionaries  to  be  used  have  been  posted 
in  some  conspicuous  place  for  several  weeks  before- 
hand, so  that  the  Endeavorers  may  have  a  chance  to 
study  up.  To  vary  the  game,  some  may  be  given  more 
general  names  to  discover,  such  as  a  Hindoo  widow, 
a  Buddhist  priest,  the  "Morning  Star";  but  this 
should  be  understood  beforehand,  or  it  will  be  con- 
fusing. 

Mission  Cities. —  Divide  the  company  into  two 
groups,  and  place  them  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
room,  with  an  umpire  between.  Allow  each  group  a 
few  minutes  in  which  they  may  consult  and  make  out 
a  list  of  as  many  cities  in  mission  fields  as  they  can, 
beginning  with  A.     When  the  umpire  calls  "Time," 


MISSIONARY    SOCIALS.  8  I 

he  will  point  to  one  side,  whose  leader  promptly  calls 
out  the  name  of  a  city.  Turning  to  the  other  side, 
the  umpire  counts  twenty.  Before  he  has  finished, 
the  leader  of  the  other  side  must  name  another  city. 
Thus  it  proceeds,  until  the  list  of  one  side  is  exhausted, 
when  the  other  side  is  credited  with  that  letter ;  and 
the  two  sides  consult  on  the  next  letter.  It  will  be  in 
order  for  any  member  to  whisper  to  the  leader  at  any 
time  the  name  of  a  city  not  on  his  list.  If  the  umpire 
is  in  doubt  whether  the  city  is  in  a  missionary  coun- 
try, he  may  compel  the  side  that  names  it  to  tell  where 
the  city  is.    The  side  gaining  most  letters  is  the  victor. 

Missionary  Clumps.  —  You  are  probably  familiar 
with  the  game  of  clumps,  in  which  the  company  is 
divided  into  two  groups,  which  occupy  different 
rooms,  and  send  representatives  —  one  from  each 
clump  —  to  consult  together  and  fix  on  some  object. 
The  representative  from  each  group  goes  before  the 
other  one,  and  is  questioned  until  one  group  has  found 
out  what  it  is  that  has  been  fixed  upon.  A  clapping 
of  hands  announces  the  victor  to  the  defeated  side. 
It  will  be  of  interest  to  play  this  on  missionary  lines, 
setting  the  Endeavorers  to  guessing  such  objects  as 
Carey's  hammer,  Morrison's  printing-press,  Mackay's 
engine,  Livingstone's  heart. 

Boston  Translated. —  The  good  old  game  of  "Bos- 
ton "  may  be  given  a  useful  missionary  twist.  Some 
one  well  informed  regarding  missions  will  preside 
over  the  game,  and  begin  the  story.  This  leader  will 
assign  to  each  player  some  name  connected  with  the 
history  of  missions  —  either  the  name  of  a  place  or 
the  name  of  a  missionary.    When  in  the  course  of  the 


82  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

story  any  of  these  names  is  introduced,  the  person 
bearing  it  must  at  once  rise  and  whirl  around,  on  pen. 
alty  of  paying  a  forfeit.  When  in  the  course  of  the 
story  the  leader  comes  to  the  word,  "  Calcutta ! "  all 
the  players  change  seats,  and  in  the  confusion  the 
leader  also  gets  a  seat.  The  person  left  standing 
must  go  on  with  the  story,  and  so  it  continues  until 
a  sufficient  number  of  forfeits  has  accumulated,  when 
they  must  be  redeemed. 

A  Tum-Tum  Social.  —  Of  course  this  social  is  not 
based  exactly  upon  that  Hindoo  drum,  but  it  is  based 
upon  the  music  of  missionary  lands.  Make  up  the 
evening's  entertainment,  so  far  as  possible,  by  the  use 
of  songs  in  the  language  of  missionary  countries.  You 
will  be  able  to  get  some  natives  to  furnish  it,  per- 
haps,—  some  Armenians,  Chinese,  Japanese,  Hindoos, 
Africans,  or  Indians.  Solos  on  foreign  instruments 
may  be  introduced.  The  songs  of  some  of  these 
countries  may  be  obtained  translated  into  English, 
but  with  the  foreign  music.  Interspersed  among 
these  musical  performances  will  come,  of  course^ 
short  talks  about  the  various  missionary  lands  and 
the  work  there. 

Missionary  Charades.  —  These  are  managed  like  the 
ordinary  charades,  except  that  famous  missionary 
scenes  are  presented  for  the  audience  to  guess  — 
such  scenes  as  Judson  in  his  prison,  or  Gardiner  and' 
his  comrades  shipwrecked  in  Patagonia. 

The  Missionary  Post-Of&ce.  — The  missionary  com- 
mittee will  prepare  a  large  number  of  letters,  one  for 
every  member  of  the  society.  These  letters  will  be 
written  in  the  character  of  some  foreigner,  and  will 


MISSIONARY    SOCIALS.  83 

introduce  as  many  foreign  ideas  and  customs  as  pos- 
sible. They  will  be  also,  in  different  ways,  strong 
pleas  for  missionary  work.  Each  envelope  will  bear 
the  stamp  of  the  country  from  which  it  is  supposed  to 
have  come.  Arrange  part  of  the  room  in  which  the 
social  is  held  as  a  post-office,  and  have  each  Endeav- 
orer  call  for  his  mail.  After  each  has  received  his  let- 
ter, he  must  read  it  aloud.  Introduce  bits  of  fun  into 
each  letter,  to  keep  up  the  interest. 

Missionary  Representatives.  —  A  pleasant  feature  of 
some  social  not  otherwise  devoted  to  missions,  would 
be  the  requirement  that  each  person  come  wearing 
something  to  indicate  a  mission  land.  The  entire  cos- 
tume or  only  part  of  it  may  suggest  the  counti'y,  and 
you  may  establish  a  contest,  in  the  first  part  of  the 
evening,  to  see  which  can  make  the  most  full  and  cor- 
rect list  of  the  different  countries  represented. 

Hindoo  Social.  —  The  idea  is  to  pack  into  one  evening 
as  much  as  possible  about  India.  Hang  the  room  with 
English  flags  and  with  Indian  fabrics.  Crowd  it  with 
all  the  articles  from  India  you  can  get  tog^ether.  Have, 
essays  and  talks  on  different  phases  of  Hindoo  life  — 
the  schools,  the  women,  the  farmers,  the  temples,  the 
caste  system,  widows,  and  the  like.  Show  on  the  wall 
as  many  pictures  as  you  can  gather.  Hang  up  a  map 
of  India  ready  for  reference.  Have  Hindoo  songs, 
Hindoo  ceremonies,  recitations  of  Hindoo  poems, 
quotations  from  the  "  Light  of  Asia,"  from  some  of 
Kipling's  Hindoo  ballads,  summaries  of  the  lives  of 
the  great  missionaries  to  India.  So  much  depends 
upon  the  resources  of  your  town  that  no  specific  direc- 
tions can  be  given  ;  but  if  you  set  to  work  and  make 


84  THE     MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

a  careful  investigation,  you  will  be  astonished,  I  am 
sure,  to  see  how  much  material  you  can  bring  together. 

Quotation  Envelopes. —  A  good  feature  for  a  mis- 
sionary social  is  the  bringing  of  envelopes  in  \vhix:h 
each  has  placed  some  contribution  for  missions,  while 
upon  the  outside  is  written  a  quotation  from  some 
missionary.  After  the  contents  of  the  envelopes  has 
been  counted  and  announced,  the  envelopes  are  dis- 
tributed and  the  quotations  read  aloud. 

Missionary  Post. —  This  is  for  an  outdoors  social. 
Name  the  trees,  bushes,  etc.,  with  the  names  of  im- 
portant stations  in  different  fields.  Large  banners 
should  be  provided  beforehand,  each  bearing  the  name 
of  a  station  and  also  of  a  missionary  at  work  there. 
The  players  posted  at  the  several  stations  represent 
the  missionaries  there.  One  player,  unassigned,  stands 
in  the  centre.  By  motions  the  players  arrange  for 
exchanges  of  posts,  Dr.  Farnham  of  Shanghai,  for 
instance,  going  to  become  Dr.  Barnum  of  Harpoot. 
With  each  transfer,  the  player  takes  up  a  new  char- 
acter. WhiJe  the  change  is  being  made,  the  leader 
tries  to  slip  into  the  place  temporarily  vacant.  If  lie 
succeeds,  the  outwitted  player  becomes  leader  in  his 
turn. 

Missionary  Alphabet. —  Give  each  player  a  piece  of 
paper  and  a  pencil.  The  game  is  to  make  —  in  five 
minutes,  say  —  as  long  a  list  as  possible  of  missionary 
stations  and  missionaries  whose  names  begin  with  A. 
After  this,  pass  to  the  following  letters.  The  person 
victorious  in  the  most  letters  wins  the  game. 

Countries  and  Characters.  —  The  leader  stands  in  the 
centre  of  the  circle  with  a  knotted  handkerchief  which 


MISSIONARY    SOCIALS.  85 

he  throws  at  some  player,  at  the  same  time  saying, 
'•A  place  in  China,"  or,  "A  missionary  in  Turkey," 
calling  for  either  a  missionary  station  or  a  missionary 
in  some  country.  If  the  person  hit  cannot  answer  be- 
fore ten  is  counted  slowly,  he  must  take  the  leader's 
place  in  the  centre. 

Hidden  Stations. —  Divide  the  members  into  groups, 
and  give  to  each  person  a  slip  of  paper  bearing  say 
ten  anagrams,  each  anagram  being  the  name  of 
some  prominent  missionary  station,  the  letters  all 
mixed  up.  The  anagrams  are  numbered,  and  each 
group  is  furnished  with  a  set  of  items,  correspond- 
ingly numbered,  concerning  the  hidden  stations,  no 
proper  names  being  admitted.  These  are  to  serve  as 
an  aid  for  solving  the  anagrams.  The  first  group  to 
solve  all  the  puzzles  correctly  (a  member  of  the  mis- 
sionary committee  with  a  correct  list  is  stationed  at 
each  table)  will  announce  this  fact  by  clapping  the 
hands,  when  the  right  list  will  be  read  aloud. 

A  Hunt  for  Facts.  —  Write  upon  slips  of  paper  a 
number  of  missionary  facts,  making  them  as  varied 
and  suggestive  as  possible.  Divide  these  slips,  each 
of  them,  into  two  parts.  As  the  members  enter,  give 
each  of  them  one  half  of  a  fact,  and  tell  them  that  on 
the  stroke  of  a  bell  they  are  to  hunt  for  the  rest  of 
their  facts.  It  will  add  to  the  interest  if  half  of  each 
fact  is  given  to  a  boy  and  half  to  a  girl,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible. After  all  have  been  matched,  they  should  be 
read  aloud. 

An  Examination.  —  If  you  have  a  very  jovial  person 
to  conduct  the  examination,  you  can  get  a  great  deal 
of  fun  as  well  as  profit  out  of  such  an  exercise,  held  at 


86  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

the  close  of  a  missionary  social  at  which  essays  have 
been  read.  The  examination  will  be  upon  the  in- 
formation presented  in  these  papers  and  during  the 
evening.  The  questions  should  be  few,  and  should 
call  for  only  short  answers.  Pass  the  papers  to  your 
neighbors,  correct  them,  and  mark  the  per  cent  as  the 
right  answers  are  read.  Honor  in  some  way  the  per- 
son whose  per  cent  is  the  highest. 

A  Missionary  Hunt.  — Tell  the  Endeavorers,  before 
they  come,  to  make  themselves  familiar  with  the 
various  mission  fields  of  their  denomination  and  the 
names  of  the  principal  missionaries  at  each.  As  each 
Endeavorer  comes  in,  give  him  a  card  bearing  either 
the  name  of  a  missionary  or  the  name  of  a  station  at 
which  that  missionary  labors.  On  a  given  signal  the 
stations  set  out  to  hunt  for  their  missionaries,  and  the 
missionaries  for  their  stations.  Each  pair  must  pre- 
sent themselves  before  the  missionary  committee  to 
learn  whether  they  are  properly  matched.  If  you 
want  to  make  this  social  simpler,  place  in  the  room 
a  home-made  map  on  which  you  have  marked  the 
stations  and  the  missionaries  used  during  the  evening. 
The  Endeavorers  can  examine  this,  and  learn  for  what 
name  each  is  to  search. 

Sewing  Bees.  —  If  your  church  has  no  young 
women's  missionary  society,  it  probably  has  no 
sewing  bees  for  niissionary  work  with  the  needle  ; 
and  what  agency  better  to  establish  these  delightful 
affairs  than  the  missionary  committee  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  society  ?  While  the  young  women  are  sew- 
ing on  missionary  garments,  let  one  of  their  number 
read  aloud  from  some  interesting  missionary  book. 


MISSIONARY    SOCIALS.  8/ 

An  International  Tea.  —  This  may  be  made  as  elab- 
orate as  desired,  with  tables  bearing  viands  of  differ- 
ent countries,  waiters  dressed  in  national  costumes, 
decorations  of  appropriate  flags,  the  singing  of  na- 
tional songs,  and  other  fitting  exercises.  Put  at  each 
plate  a  card  bearing  information  about  the  missions 
of  the  country  represented  by  that  table. 

Missionary  Nuggets.  —  This  will  furnish  a  pleasant 
half  hour  at  any  social.  Distribute  cards,  upon  which 
have  been  written  famous  bits  from  the  writings  of 
eminent  missionaries.  Upon  the  back  of  each  is  to 
be  given  a  suggestive  fact  or  two  about  the  mission- 
ary, but  no  name.  Each  member  in  turn  will  read 
the  quotation,  and  the  information  on  the  back  of  the 
card.  Then  the  card  is  to  be  given  to  the  person  who 
first  names  the  author.  The  Endeavorer  that  gets 
the  most  cards  is  the  winner. 

An  Animated  Missionary  Library. — Each  young 
woman  is  to  represent  a  missionary  book.  She  will 
post  herself  upon  the  contents  of  the  book,  and  at  the 
social  will  answer  only  questions  with  reference  to  it. 
The  books  will  be  given  numbers,  and  the  young  men 
will  "draw  them"  by  number,  without  knowing  who 
or  what  they  are.  Then  the  conversation  is  to  begin, 
and  is  to  continue  until  the  young  man  has  discovered 
with  what  book  he  is  talking.  Then  he  may  draw 
another ! 

Picturesque  Devices. — Be  sure  to  select  some  bright 
feature  in  the  life  of  each  country  presented  in  your 
socials,  and  hang  upon  it  some  missionary  informa- 
tion. For  example,  if  you  are  planning  a  Japanese 
social,  you  may  buy  a  lot  of  little  Japanese  umbrellas 


88  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

(one  cent  each)  and  attach  to  each  a  set  of  facts  about 
Japan  —  different  facts  for  each  umbrella.  At  a  cer- 
tain stage  in  the  evening's  proceedings,  some  one 
will  read  a  set  of  questions  to  which  these  facts  are 
answers,  and  as  each  question  is  read,  whoever  thinks 
he  has  the  appropriate  fact  to  answer  it,  will  respond. 

If  your  social  is  upon  Alaska,  set  up  in  one  corner 
of  the  room  an  Indian  tepee,  within  which  will  sit  a 
squaw,  who  hands  to  every  one  that  calls  on  her  a  slip 
of  paper  bearing  either  a  question  or  an  answer  upon 
Alaskan  missions.  The  recipients  are  expected  to 
hunt  around  and  find  the  corresponding  slip. 

If  you  are  dealing  with  China,  construct  a  gay  pa- 
goda in  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  hang  upon  it  little 
pieces  of  red  paper,  each  of  them  containing  a  mis- 
sionary fact  relating  to  China.  These  slips  are  of 
different  lengths,  and  when  all  that  have  slips  of  the 
same  length  have  come  together,  the  assembly  will  be 
found  to  be  divided  into  groups  of  fours.  The  infor- 
mation gathered  by  each  four  will  be  discovered  to  be 
on  some  one  subject,  such  as  Chinese  education,  Chi- 
nese religion,  the  Chinese  language.  It  will  next  be 
in  order  for  each  group  to  read  tlie  slips  of  paper  in 
their  possession. 


MISSIONARY    MONEY.  89 


CHAPTER   XII. 

MISSIONARY  MOWEY. 

The  Aim. —  It  is  not  right  to  have  much  regard  in 
our  Christian  Endeavor  work  to  the  total  amount 
raised  for  missions.  Most  of  our  members  are  young 
people  not  yet  earning  money,  and  have  little  of  it  to 
give.  The  educational  value  of  giving  is  what  you 
must  consider  chiefly.  It  is  essential,  therefore,  that 
every  one  give  something,  and  that  all  gifts  be  made 
regularly.  What  you  want  is  to  cultivate  the  habit  of 
giving.  If  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  does  this, 
it  is  doing  all  that  can  fairly  be  expected  of  it. 

The  Envelope  System. —  This  is  the  ideal  way  of 
raising  money  for  missions  ;  in  fact,  there  is  no  other 
way  worth  consideratibn.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
fiscal  year  the  treasurer  hands  to  each  member  of  the 
society  a  printed  card  (it  may  be  typewritten  or  hecto- 
graphed,  though  you  can  obtain  the  cards  already 
printed  from  the  United  Society).  This  card  contains 
the  statement  that  the  Endeavorer  will  give  during 
the  coming  year  so  much  a  month.  There  is  a  list  of 
figures,  from  one  cent  to  twenty-five  or  fifty  cents,  and 
the  Endeavorer  checks  off  the  amount  he  thinks  he 
can  give  each  month.  The  treasurer  then  hands  him 
a  set  of  twelve  little  envelopes,  each  bearing  the  name 
of  a  month.  He  is  given  a  number  on  the  treasurer's 
book,  and  the  envelopes  are  numbered  to  correspond. 


90  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

There  is  nothing  binding  about  the  plan,  but  one  may 
withdraw  from  it  during  the  year,  if  he  choose.  I  have 
yet  to  hear  of  a  society  that  adopted  this  method,  pre- 
senting the  plan  to  each  member  personally,  and  ever 
afterward  failed  of  a  well  filled  treasury.  It  puts  our 
gifts  on  a  businesslike  basis.  Each  knows  what  is 
expected,  and  the  society  knows  what  it  will  receive, 
and  can  plan  accordingly. 

Ice-Cream  Zeal. —  If  in  your  church  you  are  already 
well  trained  in  the  art  of  giving,  it  will  not  be  so  dan- 
gerous for  you  occasionally  to  raise  missionary  money 
by  means  of  entertainments,  suppers,  fairs,  and  the 
like;  but  if  your  community  has  been  in  the  habit  of 
relying  on  such  sources  for  most  of  its  missionary 
gifts,  the  sooner  and  the  more  completely  you  break 
away  from  them,  the  better.  "  Pay  socials  do  not 
pay."  "  Birthday  parties  "  (a  penny  for  every  year  of 
your  age)  are  the  death  of  true  missionary  giving. 
When  we  give  ten  cents  for  a  plate  of  ice-cream  in 
order  that  one  cent  of  the  dime  may  get  to  the  heathen, 
our  interest  goes  rather  with  the  ice-cream  than  with 
the  pitiful  penny.  That  is  not  genuine  giving  which 
must  go  around  by  way  of  a  strawberry  patch. 

When  Shall  We  Receive  the  Missionary  Gifts?  — At 
the  monthly  consecration  meeting,  of  course.  Then 
you  are  most  sure  of  a  full  attendance.  Besides,  what 
you  give  to  missions  is  proof  of  consecration,  to  that 
extent,  at  least,  and  fits  into  the  very  spirit  of  the  ser- 
vice. Always  follow  the  reception  of  the  collection 
with  a  prayer  that  God  may  bless  the  gift,  and  that 
souls  may  be  won  through  it. 

How  To  Divide  the  Money  Raised. —  1  n  some  churches 


MISSIONARY    MONEY.  QI 

less  amply  provided  with  this  world's  goods,  the  aid 
of  the  Endeavorers  in  maintaining  the  church  may  be 
very  acceptable  ;  but  in  most  churches  the  young  peo- 
ple will  be  free  to  use  all  their  money  for  missions  and 
to  keep  up  their  society  work.  In  most  societies  the 
latter  item  is  a  very  slight  drain  on  the  budget ;  the 
society  expenses  consist  almost  entirely  of  topic-cards, 
with  a  little  now  and  then  to  eke  out  a  social.  Most 
of  the  Endeavorers'  money,  then,  can  be  appropriated 
to  missions,  and  it  is  best  to  divide  it  equally  between 
the  home  and  the  foreign  fields.  Of  course,  if  the 
society  wishes,  separate  pledges  can  be  made  for  mis- 
sions and  for  the  society  expenses  ;  but  that  seems  a 
needless  complication,  if  it  is  understood  that  most 
will  go  to  the  mission  boards. 

The  Forward  Look. —  It  is  a  decided  advantage  if 
the  chief  objects  of  your  benevolence  for  the  year  can 
be  selected  beforehand,  though  of  course  you  will 
wish  to  leave  part  of  the  probable  receipts  unappro- 
priated to  meet  unexpected  calls.  But  if  you  know 
what  you  are  raising  money  for,  it  will  be  possible  to 
arouse  much  more  interest  in  the  cause.  Throughout 
the  year  you  can  not  only  speak  of  the  good  your  past 
contributions  are  doing  in  certain  fields,  but  you  can 
urge  the  need  of  the  fields  to  which  you  are  intending 
to  send  money  as  soon  as  it  may  be  raised. 

A  Programme  of  Giving. —  An  individual  forward 
look  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  as  well  as  one  taken 
by  the  society  as  a  whole,  will  be  a  good  thing  for 
missionary  giving.  Hand  to  each  member  a  hecto- 
graphed  or  typewritten  copy  of  the  following :  — 

It  is  my  purpose  to  give  each  week  during  the  coming  year 
to  each  of  the  following  objects  the  sum  set  opposite  them :  — 


92  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

The  church. 

Missions. 

The  Sunday  school. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  society. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  union. 

Temperance  work. 

ReHgious  periodicals  and  books. 

Flowers  for  the  church. 

Of  course  the  list  will  vary  in  different  localities. 
Let  the  missionary  committee  place  upon  the  board  a 
copy  of  the  list  with  sample  figures  added  by  way  of 
suggestion,  ranging  from  ten  cents  at  the  head  to, 
possibly,  one-fourth  of  a  cent  in  the  less  important 
cases. 

Separate  Funds. —  The  older  Christians  find  it  a  help 
to  divide  their  missionary  gifts,  taking  up  separate 
collections  for  foreign  work,  home  work,  church-build- 
ing, Sunday-school  extension,  and  the  like.  It  may 
well  be  that,  as  a  mere  matter  of  education,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  it  would  be  well  in  our  Christian  En- 
deavor societies  to  give  an  opportunity  at  least  to  each 
member  to  subscribe  separately  to  the  different  mis- 
sionary objects  to  which  his  society  will  contribute 
during  the  year. 

How  Should  Money  Be  Sent  to  the  Missionary 
Boards?  —  Send  it  always  through  your  church  treas- 
urer, because  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  is  a 
branch  of  the  church,  and  whatever  it  gives  should 
be  counted  in  with  the  church  gifts.  However,  the 
treasurer  should  be  asked  to  keep  a  separate  account 
of  the  Christian  Endeavor  gifts,  and  to  designate 
them  separately  in  sending  them  to  the  boards.  This 
is  because  many  boards  wish  to  keep  track  of  the 


MISSIONARY    MONEY.  93 

amount  of  money  sent  by  the  Endeavor  societies.  If 
your  money  is  to  go  to  certain  missions  or  missionaries 
set  apart  by  the  boards  for  the  support  of  the  young 
people,  the  treasurer  will,  of  course,  make  that  dispo- 
sition of  your  gifts. 

Follow  Your  Gifts. —  You  will  have  lost  much  of  the 
value  of  giving,  if  after  you  have  given  you  permit  the 
society  to  lose  sight  of  its  gifts.  Every  dollar  should 
mean  just  so  much  more  of  continued  interest  in  some 
missionary  field.  For  instance,  you  have  sent  fifteen 
dollars  to  a  school  in  India:  let  the  missionary  com- 
mittee see  to  it  that  subsequent  missionary  meetings 
present  news  from  that  special  school,  though  they 
present  nothing  else.  Read  before  the  society  what- 
ever letter  of  acknowledgment  comes  to  you.  Get  a 
letter  from  some  missionary  there,  if  you  can.  Show 
pictures  of  the  building  and  the  natives.  Make  the 
Endeavorers  feel  that  they  have  actually  made  an  in- 
vestment out  in  India  which  they  should  follow  with 
their  interest  and  their  prayers.  So  important  is  this 
work  that  it  might  well  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
special  committee, —  a  committee  of  one,  possibly, — 
which  might  be  called  the  "following-up  committee." 

The  Gifts  of  Church-Members. —  Most  of  our  En- 
deavorers are  church-members,  and  their  contributions 
to  missions  are  made  chiefly,  as  is  right,  to  the  church 
directly.  It  is  only  fair,  however,  that  in  reporting  for 
Christian  Endeavor  statistics  the  gifts  of  Endeavorers, 
these  sums  should  be  included,  and  the  treasurer 
should  get  from  the  church-members  in  the  society  a 
statement  of  what  they  gave  through  the  church,  as 
well  as  what  they  gave  through  the  society.    Of  course 


94  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL, 

this  information  should  be  kept  private  so  far  as  names 
are  concerned. 

Your  Own  Missionary.— Most  missionary  boards 
have  adopted  the  plan  of  assigning  missionaries  to 
single  Christian  Endeavor  societies  or  churches,  or 
groups  of  societies  or  churches,  for  them  to  support 
entirely.  I  earnestly  advocate  this  scheme.  Experi- 
ence shows  that  when  a  society  is  thus  embarked  on 
some  grand  definite  enterprise,  its  interest  is  not  cen- 
tred on  the  one  field  in  which  its  representative  is  at 
work,  but  at  once  becomes  deeper  and  broader  than 
ever  before.  Do  something  heroic,  Endeavorers ! 
Get  your  board  to  assign  to  you  a  missionary  of  your 
very  own.  If  you  go  at  the  task  in  the  spirit  of 
the  pledge,  you  will  be  amazed  to  see  how  easily  the 
money  will  be  raised,  and  how  blessed  will  be  the 
spiritual  results. 

A  Division  That  Increases.  —  In  case  you  are  not 
giving  all  your  money  to  the  support  of  one  mission- 
ary, it  is  better  to  divide  it  among  several  foreign  and 
several  home  mission  fields,  than  to  send  it  all  to  one. 
Each  gift,  though  it  may  be  a  small  one,  will  interest 
the  society  in  the  field  to  which  it  goes,  so  that  a  di- 
versity of  gifts  generally  means  a  widening  interest. 

A  Finance  Committee.  —  The  great  subject  of  giving 
may  well  absorb  the  energies  of  an  entire  committee, 
as  well  as  of  the  treasurer.  Most  societies  have  too 
few  committees,  anyway.  This  committee,  if  you  de- 
cide to  form  one,  should  not  in  any  way  interfere  with 
the  treasurer,  but  should  confine  its  efforts  solely  to 
making  the  Endeavorers  more  generous.  It  will  push 
the  Tenth  Legion,  inform  itself  regarding  the  special 


MISSIONARY    MONEY.  95 

needs  of  the  boards  and  of  the  mission  fields  and  re- 
port them,  give  items  to  the  point  in  missionary  meet- 
ings, and  report  from  time  to  time  what  progress  the 
society  is  making  in  the  matter  of  giving. 

Just  How  You  Stand. —  Frequent  reports  from  the 
treasurer  will  serve  to  maintain  the  society's  interest 
in  giving.  At  every  business  meeting  he  should  tell 
precisely  how  the  money  is  coming  in,  what  has  been 
spent,  and  for  what  missionary  objects,  and  how  much 
is  left  in  the  treasury. 

A  Record  that  Takes  Care  of  Itself.  —  The  treasurer 
will  be  saved  some  bother  if  he  places  a  mission  box 
in  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  above  it  a  list  of  the 
members  of  the  society,  each  name  being  followed  by 
fifty-two  spaces,  if  the  contributions  are  to  be  made 
weekly,  or  by  twelve  spaces  if  they  are  to  be  made 
monthly.  Then,  as  the  member  places  his  gift  in  the 
box,  he  will  place  a  cross  opposite  his  name.  The 
treasurer  alone  knows  for  what  pledged  amount  each 
cross  stands.  He  will  take  out  the  money  every  week 
at  the  end  of  the  meeting,  and  count  it. 

The  Tenth  Legion. —  Few  branches  of  Christian 
Endeavor  work  have  shown  more  clearly  the  practi- 
cal common  sense  of  the  movement,  together  with  its 
lofty  ideals,  than  the  Tenth  Legion.  This  is  an  en- 
rolment of  tithe-givers.  Christian  Endeavorers  and 
others.  Its  members  simply  state  that  it  is  their 
practice  to  give  to  the  Lord's  work  one-tenth  or  more 
of  their  income.  They  receive  a  certificate,  which  is 
returned  if,  for  any  reason,  at  any  time,  they  wish  to 
give  up  this  plan  of  giving.  But  only  two  or  three  of 
the  many  thousands  that  have  enrolled  have  discarded 


96  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

the  method.  Indeed,  a  large  number  of  them  have 
gone  on  to  give  one-fifth  or  more  ! 

There  is  nothing  formal  about  the  matter.  It  is 
anything  but  a  return  to  Judaism.  The  movement 
simply  springs  from  the  knowledge  that  Christians  in 
general  are  giving  far  less  than  one-tenth,  and  frorn 
the  conviction  that  "gospel  liberty"  does  not  meaiv 
liberty  to  be  less  generous  than  the  Jews. 

To  push  this  movement,  send  to  the  United  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  they  will  send  you,  free,  a 
leaflet  giving  full  details  of  the  movement,  with  blank 
application-cards.  They  sell  for  two  cents  an  address 
by  myself  which  is  to  be  illustrated  by  easily  made 
paste-board  designs,  setting  forth  how  little  is  now 
given  and  how  much  is  needed.  It  is  called,  "The 
Tenth  Legion."  This  may  be  repeated  at  a  meeting 
called  to  arouse  interest  in  tithe-giving.  The  United 
Society  also  sells  —  at  fifteen  cents  a  hundred — vot- 
ing slips  to  be  used  to  ascertain  what  part  of  your  so- 
ciety are  already  tithe-givers,  what  part  would  like  to 
be,  what  part  keep  regular  account  of  their  gifts,  etc. 
The  address  referred  to,  another  address  by  your  pas- 
tor, short  testimonies  from  those  that  have  already 
tried  the  system  of  tithe-giving,  and  the  voting  (no 
names  being  given) — this  would  make  an  effective 
presentation  of  the  case,  and  would  constitute  one  of 
the  most  useful  of  missionary  meetings.     Try  it. 

A  Standing  Hint.  —  We  do  not  use  half  enough  in 
our  religious  work  the  principle  of  advertising.  Try 
it  in  the  matter  of  giving.  Keep  standing  before  the 
society,  printed  on  a  blackboard  or  on  a  sheet  of  card- 
board, this  pointed  announcement:  — 


MISSIONARY    MONEY.  9/ 

Eight  of  our  members 

are  now  giving 

the  tenth. 

SHOULD    NOT    YOU? 

Of  course  the  first  figure  should  be  changed  as  the 
number  grows. 

"  My  Account  with  the  Lord."  —  Get  some  printer  to 
print  this  title  upon  a  set  of  little  blank  books,  and 
give  one  of  them  to  every  Endeavorer,  obtaining  a 
promise  to  keep  account  in  that  book  on  one  side  of 
all  receipts,  and  on  the  other  side  of  whatever  gifts 
are  made  to  the  Lord's  work.  Even  if  the  system  of 
tithing  is  not  in  every  case  at  once  adopted,  yet  the 
gain  in  generosity  that  will  result  from  this  regular 
keeping  of  accounts  will  pay  for  the  books  many  times 
over. 

Two  Cents  a  Week.  —  The  plan  does  not  compare  in 
value  with  the  tithing  system  already  mentioned,  but 
some  societies  may  wish  to  adopt,  as  a  stepping-stone 
to  a  more  just  proportion,  the  "two-cents-a-week  plan." 
In  accordance  with  this,  each  member  promises  to 
give  at  least  two  cents  a  week  for  missions,  paying 
the  money  every  month  to  the  treasurer,  who  keeps 
individual  accounts.  This  may  be  increased  to  two 
cents  a  week  for  home  and  two  cents  for  foreign  mis- 
sions, and  then  you  may  advance  to  the  more  liberal 
plan  of  the  tenth. 

A  Growing  Wave.  —  Some  societies  have  found  it 
profitable,  in  managing  the  "  two-cents-a-week  "  plan 
of  giving  to  missions,  to  ask  each  person  that  promised 
two  cents  a  week    to  make  a  further  promise  that  he 


98  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

will  endeavor  to  get  two  other  persons  to  give  in  the 
same  way.  Such  a  scheme  might  work,  also,  in  the 
propaganda  of  the  Tenth  Legion. 

A  Day's  Wages. —  If  you  find  it  hard  to  persuade 
the  young  folks  to  give  a  tithe,  approach  those  that 
are  earning  salaries  with  the  request  that  each  of 
them  set  apart  at  least  one  day's  wages  for  the  mis- 
sion cause.  This  will  doubtless  be  more  than  the 
average  gift  to  missions,  and  will  mark  a  step  in 
advance. 

Free-Will  Offering.  —  These  are  commanded,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  regular  gifts  that  we  pledge.  Give  an 
opportunity  for  them  by  establishing  a  thank-offering 
box  in  some  part  of  the  society  room,  whose  contents 
the  treasurer  will  investigate  every  week,  and  report 
frequently  to  the  society  for  the  sake  of  stimulating 
such  extra  gifts. 

A  Birthday  League.  —  This  is  a  "  wheel  within  a 
wheel."  It  is  made  up  of  those  Endeavorers  that 
agree  to  give  each  year  on  their  birthdays  a  certain 
sum  to  the  missionary  treasuries.  The  sum  is  sup- 
posed to  grow  larger  as  they  grow  older.  Christians 
outside  the  society  are  added  to  the  league,  and  in  one 
instance  known  to  the  writer  very  large  sums  indeed 
have  been  obtained  in  this  way. 

A  Sacrifice  Social.  —  Let  the  members  agree  to  see 
for  a  certain  time  —  say  a  month  —  how  much  money 
each  can  save  by  little  acts  of  self-denial.  At  the 
'•  sacrifice  social  "  let  each  tell  —  in  prose  or  verse  — 
how  much  he  saved,  and  what  he  did  without  in  order 
to  make  the  saving.  Some  societies  have  emphasized 
this  plan   by   giving   to   each  member  a  "  self-denial 


MISSIONARY    MONEY.  99 

box  "  or  a  self-denial  envelope,"  to  keep  in  plain  view 
as  a  reminder. 

An  Object  Lesson.  — A  meeting  with  this  title  may  be 
made  to  teach  a  great  deal  about  giving.  Give  each 
Endeavorer  some  figures  and  ask  him  to  illustrate 
them  in  some  way  before  the  society  at  the  next  meet- 
ing. Help  those  that  are  not  inventive.  For  exam- 
ple, what  the  nation  pays  each  year  for  confectionery 
may  be  illustrated  by  an  immense  stick  colored  to 
represent  a  stick  of  candy,  and  our  gifts  to  foreign 
missions  by  a  pasteboard  Bible  made  correspondingly 
small.  The  relative  gifts  of  the  different  denomina- 
tions may  be  represented  by  pieces  of  ribbon  of  differ- 
ent lengths.  Diagrams  may  be  drawn  representing 
the  average  number  of  heathen  to  one  missionary, 
and  the  average  number  of  church-members  to  one 
minister  at  home. 

Printers'  Ink. —  Invest  in  some  good  book  on  giving, 
such  as  Pansy's  capital  "Pocket  Measure,"  or  get 
from  "  Layman,"  310  Ashland  Ave.,  Chicago,  a  supply 
of  his  admirable  "What  We  Owe,  and  Why  We 
Owe  It,"  which  he  will  send  you  free.  Then  see 
that  every  one  in  the  society  reads  these  noble  ser- 
mons on  generosity. 

Bible  Spurs.  —  A  meeting  with  this  title  may  be 
based  on  Bible  texts  on  giving.  Hand  one  of  these  to 
each  member,  and  ask  him  to  read  it  at  the  meeting 
and  follow  it  up  with  remarks  of  his  own.  Songs 
about  giving,  prayers  for  the  spirit  of  self-denial,  and 
an  address  on  generosity  will  round  out  the  meeting. 

One  Board  a  Meeting. —  Until  the  members  of  the 
society  are  thoroughly  informed  regarding  their  mis- 


lOO  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

sionary  boards,  it  will  be  well  for  the  missionary 
committee  to  obtain  ten  minutes  at  each  meeting  (five, 
if  no  more  can  be  got)  for  the  presentation  of  inter- 
esting items  concerning  the  work  of  some  one  board. 
Begin  with  an  account  of  the  work  in  general,  and 
then,  after  this  survey  has  been  made,  go  on  to  give 
more  details. 

Shares  in  Missionaries.  —  It  will  give  a  delightful 
sense  of  participation  in  missionary  work  if  the  mem- 
bers are  invited  to  take  shares  in  live  missionaries  or 
native  workers.  Find  what  it  costs  to  support  some 
particular  missionary,  divide  it  by  one  hundred  or 
one  thousand,  and  ask  each  Endeavorer  how  many 
shares  he  will  take  in  the  work  of  that  missionary. 
If  you  can  undertake  the  support  of  a  missionary 
alone, — and  many  societies  could  do  even  this  and 
some  are  doing  it, —  get  your  board  to  assign  one  to 
you,  and  then  divide  his  salary  into  365  parts,  asking 
each  member  for  how  many  days  he  will  have  the 
work  of  that  missionary  all  to  himself  ! 


RELIEF    WORK.  lOI 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

RELIEF  WORK. 


Why  Undertake  It?  —  There  is  always  danger  in 
theory  without  practice,  and  one  of  the  chief  advan- 
tages of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  is  that  it 
always  combines  the  two.  We  must  manage  to  get 
personal  missionary  work  into  our  missionary  activi- 
ties, or  the  missionary  studies  and  even  the  missionary 
giving  will  fail  of  their  highest  service.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  work  in  the  prisons  and  in  the  hospital  is 
so  valuable,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  I  urge  young 
people,  even  though  the  means  at  their  disposal  may 
be  slight,  to  take  a  hand  in  the  relief  work  that  all 
Christian  churches  should  be  carrying  on.  There  are 
other  reasons,  also,  why  this  relief  work  is  fitted  to 
our  societies.  Young  people  can  learn  the  needs  of 
the  poor  more  readily  than  their  elders  without  seem- 
ing obtrusive,  and  gifts  will  be  received  from  them  by 
the  proud  far  more  readily  than  from  grown  men  and 
women. 

Go  With  Your  Gift. —  Of  course  much  of  its  value, 
to  you  and  to  the  recipient,  depends  upon  this.  The 
missionary  committee  should  not  do  all  the  work 
of  distributing  alone.  Each  special  case  of  want 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  some  one  member 
who  will  become  acquainted  thoroughly  with  the  per- 
son or  family,  so  that  whatever  is  given  will  come 
from  a  personal  friend  rather  than  from  a  stranger. 


I02  THE     MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

Learn  Who  Are  in  Need  from  your  own  observation, 
in  the  first  place.  Use  your  eyes  in  your  own  neigh- 
borhood, or,  if  you  are  in  the  city,  take  districts  and 
explore  them.  If  charitable  organizations  exist  al- 
ready, put  yourselves  under  their  guidance.  Get  from 
the  doctors  and  from  your  pastor  the  names  of  the 
very  poor  and  their  addresses.  You  will  not  need  to 
search  long. 

What  To  Give. —  Clothes  to  the  children,  especially. 
Urge  your  desire  that  they  may  be  able  to  come  to 
Sunday  school,  and  you  will  more  easily  prevail  upon 
the  parents  to  accept  your  aid.  Gather  cast-off  cloth- 
ing from  the  entire  congregation.  Do  not  forget  toys. 
Many  a  nursery  would  be  a  more  joyful  place  if  part  of 
its  toys  went  to  the  children  that  never  have  such  things. 
Give  food,  or  money  to  buy  it.  Give  coal  where  the 
fuel  supply,  that  prime  source  of  comfort,  has  run 
short.  Give  a  doctor's  care  to  the  sick,  or  money  to 
buy  medicine.  Indeed,  the  needs  will  be  so  numerous 
that  you  will  not  find  it  necessary  to  inquire  what  to 
give,  but  rather  how  to  get  the  many  articles  urgently 
called  for. 

The  Best  Help  Is  Self-Help.  — Whenever  possible, 
give  them  work  to  do.  It  may  be  household  sewing 
or  family  washing,  or  the  garden  to  tend,  or  the  lawn, 
or  the  front  walk.  It  may  be  a  situation  in  a  store. 
The  very  best  relief  committee  is  an  employment 
bureau. 

Money  for  This  Work  must  come  largely  from  your 
elders,  but  lack  of  giving  usually  means  only  lack  of 
knowledge,  and  if  you  will  learn  about  such  sad  cases 
as  are  to  be  found  everywhere,  you  will  not  need  to 


RELIEF    WORK.  IO3 

do  more  than  state  them  to  open  pocketbooks  as  wide 
as  you  please. 

The  Country  Week  or  the  day's  outing  is  a  matter 
for  the  unions,  but  if  you  have  no  local  union,  there  is 
no  reason  why  a  single  society  may  not  do  splendid 
work,  although  limited,  in  this  very  direction.  Cer- 
tainly those  of  you  that  have  carriages  can  make 
missionary  carriages  of  them,  and  see  that  they  are 
often  used  to  give  rides  to  the  children,  the  sick,  and 
the  weary,  of  the  very  poor. 

A  Rummage  Sale  has  been  found  by  some  societies 
to  be  a  good  plan.  It  may  be  held  in  the  church,  or, 
if  that  is  not  in  the  neighborhood  where  many  poor 
people  live,  it  may  be  brought  closer  to  them.  It  will 
consist  of  all  the  partly  worn  articles  you  can  gather 
from  the  homes  of  the  congregation,  neatly  set  forth 
and  classified  on  tables,  and  offered  for  sale  at  nomi- 
nal rates.  There  will  be  a  one-cent  table,  a  two-cent 
table,  and  so  on.  The  greatest  care  must  be  exercised 
to  avoid  giving  the  affair  a  patronizing  tone,  but  that 
is  true  of  all  relief  work.  It  is  easily  spoiled,  but  the 
spirit  of  Christ  can  fill  it  with  all  loveliness. 


I04  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

MISSIONS  IN  THE  JUNIOR  SOCIETY. 

A  Very  Full  Treatment  of  this  subject  is  given  in  my 
Junior  Manual,  and  I  must  refer  my  readers  to  that 
book  if  they  wish  a  large  number  of  working  methods. 
I  can  give  in  this  place  only  a  few  general  suggestions 
and  a  few  specimen  ways  of  working,  especially  some 
plans  that  are  not  described  in  the  volume  referred  to. 
Indeed,  most  of  the  different  kinds  of  meetings  of 
which  I  give  an  account  in  the  present  manual  may 
be  made  suitable,  with  litde  change,  for  the  Junior 
society. 

Children's  Mission  Bands  are  not  found  in  some 
churches,  but  all  the  work  of  such  bands  is  carried  on, 
to  save  multiplying  organizations,  by  the  Junior  so- 
ciety. When  this  is  the  case,  the  Junior  superinten- 
dent must  use  double  care  that  the  missionary  cause 
may  not  suffer  but  may  rather  be  the  gainer  because 
this  trust  is  committed  to  Christian  Endeavor  hands. 
Get  into  close  touch  with  the  denominational  organi- 
zation that  conducts  the  mission  bands;  it  is  usually 
the  woman's  board.  Learn  the  plans  of  the  secre- 
taries, use  their  leaflets  and  exercises,  and  let  thcni 
know  that  your  Junior  society  is  co-operating  witli 
them  as  thoroughly  as  the  best  mission  band  in  the 
country. 

A  Flag  Exercise  may  readily  be  constructed,  if  you 
have  a  supply   of  foreign   flags.      Give  each   Junior 


MISSIONS     IN    THE    JUNIOR    SOCIETY.       IO5 

some  missionary  fact  or  anecdote  and  have  him  step 
forward  and  tell  it,  at  the  same  time  waving  the  flag 
of  the  country  about  which  he  is  speaking. 

A  Question  Meeting  may  be  made  so  simple  that  all 
the  Juniors  can  take  part.  Ask  each  Junior  a  question 
about  missions  so  very  easy  that  he  can  get  the  answer 
almost  anywhere;  such  questions  as:  "What  are  the 
mission  boards  of  our  church  ?"  "Who  was  the  first 
English  missionary  to  India?"  "  What  mission  field 
is  called  the  Dark  Continent,  and  why?"  "What 
mission  field  is  called  the  Neglected  Continent,  and 
why? " 

The  Chairs  may  be  made  an  interesting  and  ever- 
varying  factor  in  a  Junior  missionary  meeting.  Place 
them  in  squares  for  cities,  each  city  bearing  a  banner 
with  its  name  upon  it.  Of  course  the  Juniors  that  sit 
in  these  chairs  are  the  people  living  in  those  cities, 
and  will  describe  their  surroundings.  So  the  chairs 
may  be  made  to  represent  islands,  and  a  Junior  may 
represent  a  missionary  ship  cruising  among  them.  So 
in  many  other  ways  the  children's  vivid  imaginations 
may  be  enlisted  in  the  cause. 

A  Paton  Sunday. —  This  will  be  a  meeting  entirely 
devoted  to  learning  about  the  interesting  life  of  this 
missionary,  and  it  may  be  followed  by  other  bio- 
graphical meetings.  In  the  same  way  you  may  have 
a  Foochow  Sunday,  studying  that  interesting  city  and 
its  missions,  followed  by  a  Calcutta  Sunday,  and  the 
like. 

Missionary  Essays,  brief  and  simple,  may  be  given 
at  every  meeting.  They  will  use  up  only  a  few 
minutes.      On  one   Sundav  an  Endeavorer  from  the 


106  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

older  society  may  give  one  and  on  the  next  Sunday  a 
Junior,  and  so  they  may  alternate. 

Missionary  Cardboard. —  Cut  outsets  of  cards,  two 
by  four  inches,  using  a  different  color  for  each  mis- 
sionary country.  Upon  these  cards  write  interesting 
missionary  facts  and  anecdotes,  or  cut  from  the 
papers  and  paste  them'  on,  not  by  any  means  forget- 
ting pictures.  These  cards  may  be  used  in  mission- 
ary meetings,  and  should  be  kept  as  souvenirs  by  the 
Juniors  participating. 

"The  Junior  Missionary."  —  This  would  make  a 
good  name  for  a  little  manuscript  missionary  paper, 
to  be  edited  by  one  of  the  Juniors,  and  read  at  every 
missionary  meeting.  Of  course  contributions  are  to 
be  obtained  from  as  many  of  the  Juniors  as  possible. 

Mission  Maps  made  in  the  sand  may  teach  the  Jun- 
iors much  about  the  mission  fields.  Dampen  the 
sand  beforehand,  and  use  blue  cambric  on  the  bottom 
of  the  tray  to  represent  the  water.  Dress  dolls  in  for- 
eign costumes  for  the  people.  Have  the  boys  make 
paper  models  of  foreign  houses,  of  temples,  pagodas, 
and  the  like.  Get  each  Junior  to  make  something  for 
the  map  —  amission  school  house,  a  mission  church, 
a  mission  college  ;  and  as  each  places  his  contribution 
in  the  proper  position,  he  is  to  tell  the  society  some- 
thing about  it. 

The  Birthdays  of  Missionaries  may  be  observed  by 
the  Juniors,  and  if  they  send  to  the  missionaries,  in 
time  to  reach  them  on  their  birthdays,  some  little 
token  of  their  love  for  them,  it  will  cheer  the  mission- 
aries beyond  measure,  and  at  the  same  time  quicken 
the  Juniors'  interest  in  the  work. 


MISSIONS    IN    THE    JUNIOR    SOCIETY.       10/ 

Souvenirs  of  Missionary  Meetings  will  please  the 
Juniors.  They  may  be  very  simple,  but  they  should 
be  appropriate  and  should  be  given  to  each  member 
present.  For  example,  a  good  souvenir  of  a  meeting 
devoted  to  studying  missions  among  the  Indians  would 
be  an  arrow  cut  from  pasteboard,  gilded,  with  a  blue 
ribbon  tied  to  the  shaft,  and  with  the  date  printed  on 
the  back. 

Foreign  Christian  Endeavor  Badges  may  be  obtained 
from  the  United  Society,  and  may  be  used  in  various 
ways,  as  rewards  and  otherwise,  to  stimulate  interest 
in  missions.  The  Juniors  will  be  proud  to  wear 
Chinese  pins,  and  the  little  silver  tokens  will  often  re- 
mind them  of  their  almond-eyed  brothers  and  sisters. 

Missionary  Links. — These  are  obtained  by  corre- 
spondence with  the  Juniors  of  other  lands.  They  con- 
sist of  brief  messages,  especially  Bible  verses,  writ 
ten  on  uniform  strips  of  paper  sent  for  that  purpose, 
though  a  fine  effect  is  sometimes  produced  by  the 
substitution  of  foreign  paper.  The  messages  should 
be  written  in  the  foreign  languages,  with  translations 
following.  They  will  be  fastened  together  in  a  chain, 
and  will  hang  in  the  Junior  meeting-place  as  a  perpet- 
ual reminder  of  missions  and  of  the  Juniors'  kinship 
all  around  the  world. 

Text-Chains  may  be  made  for  the  sick  in  the  hospi- 
tals or  in  the  homes  of  the  congregaticn.  Each 
Junior  chooses  a  Bible  verse  that  he  thinks  likely  to 
comfort  and  help  the  sick  one.  The  text  is  then  writ- 
ten, as  nicely  as  he  can  do  it,  on  a  strip  of  bright- 
colored  paper  furnished  by  the  superintendent,  and 
when  all  are  done,  they  are  pasted  together  in  inter- 


I08  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

lacing  links  and  sent  to  cheer  the  hospitals  and  the 
sick  rooms.  The  children  themselves  may  do  much 
good  by  visiting  the  hospitals,  old  ladies'  homes,  and 
the  like,  singing  to  the  inmates,  and  bringing  them 
fruit  and  other  delicacies,  as  well  as  light  scrap- 
books  they  have  made  themselves  and  fans  covered 
with  funny  stories  or  pretty  pictures. 

Talents.  —  Give  to  each  Junior  a  small  sum  of 
money,  say  five  cents,  to  increase  for  the  missionary 
contribution.  The  children  will  buy  with  it  material 
which  they  can  make  up  into  objects  for  sale,  which 
can  again  be  converted  into  new  material,  thus  con- 
stantly adding  to  the  fund.  A  social  should  be  held, 
or  some  special  meeting,  to  which  the  Juniors  will 
bring  their  money  and  tell  how  they  gained  it. 

Mite-Boxes  will  be  of  assistance  in  teaching  the  Jun- 
iors to  save  money  for  missions.  They  can  be  obtained 
at  most  missionary  headquarters.  Once  a  year,  or 
oftener,  hold  "  inspection  "  socials,  in  which  the  mite- 
boxes  are  opened  and  their  contents  counted. 

Junior  Gardens,  —  Set  the  Juniors  to  raising  money 
for  missions  by  means  of  gardening.  Give  each  of 
them  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  in  a  bag,  a  cer- 
tain number  of  beans  to  plant,  say  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  and  at  the  close  of  the  season  have  a  "bean  sup- 
per," all  the  articles  of  retreshment  beginning  with  B. 
The  beans  from  each  garden  are  to  be  weighed  and 
bought  at  their  market  value  by  some  missionary 
grocer. 

Missionary  Canvassers. —  The  J  uniors  will  make  good 
canvassing  agents  for  the  papers  published  by  your 
denomination,  and  since  in  most  cases  a  liberal  pre 


MISSIONS    IN    THE    JUNIOR    SOCIETY.       ICQ 

mium  is  allowed,  this  is  one  excellent  way  to  raise 
money  for  missions.  Another  good  w^ay  is  to  present 
each  Junior  with  a  prettily  made  Junior  shield.— 
pasteboard,  of  course, —  bearing  upon  its  back  ten 
little  envelopes  in  two  rows.  Each  envelope  is  to 
receive  ten  cents  for  missions,  so  that  the  whole  when 
filled  will  mean  one  dollar. 

A  Parasol  Social.  —  Provide  little  Japanese  parasols, 
which  cost  about  one  cent  apiece.  Give  one  to  each 
Junior.  Attached  to  each  parasol  is  a  card  bearing  a 
missionary  fact.  Corresponding  to  these  facts  is  a  set 
of  questions  which  will  be  read  later  in  the  evening, 
each  Junior  watching  to  see  when  a  question  is  read 
that  may  belong  to  the  answer  on  his  parasol.  For 
instance,  if  the  question  is  read  :  "  What  do  the  Japa- 
nese street  Arabs  say  to  the  foreigners.?  "  The  an- 
swer would  be,  "His  talk  is  all  the  same  as  a  cat's." 
'•How  many  Chinese  can  read?*'  ''How  many 
missionaries  are  there  in  the  world?" — that  is  the 
kind  of  question  to  propound. 

Missionary  Anagrams.  —  This  is  a  pleasant  mission- 
ary game  for  a  social.  Group  the  Juniors  in  compa- 
nies of  ten,  and  give  each  Junior  a  slip  of  paper  with 
numbers  from  i  to  lo.  Pass  around  in  each  group 
a  set  of  ten  cards,  each  card  bearing  the  name  of  a 
missionary  well  known  to  the  Juniors,  but  the  letters 
all  mixed  up.  They  are  to  solve  the  puzzles,  writing 
the  names  of  the  missionaries  opposite  the  proper 
figure,  each  card  bearing  a  number.  Those  that 
solve  the  greatest  number  in  a  certain  time  win  the 
game. 


no  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER   XV. 
UNION  MISSIONARY  WORK. 

Other  Chapters  of  this  book  have  described  fully 
some  of  the  most  important  missionary  enterprises  of 
Christian  Endeavor  unions,  namely,  the  missionary 
conference,  the  missionary  mass  meeting,  the  mission- 
ary museum,  and  missions  in  conventions.  This 
chapter  is  to  speak  of  other  lines  of  work  that  do  not 
need  detailed  treatment. 

The  Union  Missionary  Committee  consists  of  the 
chairmen  of  all  the  missionary  committees  in  the 
union.  This  committee  itself  has  a  chairman  chosen 
by  the  union.  The  committee  should  meet  several 
times  a  year  to  plan  the  committee  conferences,  and 
to  arrange  for  whatever  practical  missionary  work  the 
union  may  carry  on. 

An  Advisory  Board.  —  Many  lines  of  effort,  noble  in 
themselves,  are  not  appropriate  for  an  interdenomina- 
tional body  such  as  the  Christian  Endeavor  union. 
Still  other  kinds  of  work,  though  suitable,  require  for 
success  the  advice  and  guidance  of  older  heads. 
Every  Christian  Endeavor  union  should  have,  there- 
fore, a  pastors'  advisory  board,  consisting  of  repre- 
sentative pastors  of  the  different  denominations,  and 
new  undertakings  of  importance  should  first  receive 
the  hearty  approval  of  this  board.  Some  of  the  plans 
suggested  in  the  following  pages  would  be  very  unwise 
under  certain  circumstances  which  the  pastors  alone 


UNION    MISSIONARY    WORK.  I  I  I 

could  determine,  though  all  such  plans  are  described 
here  for  the  reason  that  in  some  cities  they  have 
proved  great  successes,  and  have  met  with  the  cordial 
approval  of  all  the  pastors. 

Your  Own  Mission.  —  Such  a  plan,  for  instance,  is 
the  adoption  of  a  city  mission,  or  the  support  of  a  city 
missionary.  In  some  localities  this  has  been  the  life 
of  the  city  union,  and  has  done  wonders  for  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  churches  connected  with  it. 
Whether  this  is  feasible  or  not, —  and  it  generally  is, — 
you  may  always  give  great  aid  to  the  city  mission  or 
missions  by  regular  systematic  assistance  in  their 
meetings.  On  one  night,  by  previous  arrangement, 
the  Endeavorers  of  the  Walnut  Avenue  Baptist 
Church  will  go  to  the  Third  Street  Rescue  Mission. 
The  next  night  the  young  people  of  the  Sixth  Presby- 
terian Church  will  go  there,  and  so  on.  The.se  En- 
deavorers will  help  by  singing,  by  their  sympathetic, 
eager  listening,  by  their  cordial  words  to  the  men,  by 
their  ready,  pointed,  brief  testimonies  when  called  on, 
and  by  their  faithful  prayers.  Of  course  the  sights 
they  will  see  and  the  words  they  will  hear  and  this 
experience  in  actual  evangelistic  work  will  do  far  more 
for  the  Endeavorers  than  they  will  do  for  the  mission  ; 
but  that  is  all  the  better. 

Mission  Sunday  Schools  are  well  within  the  scope  of 
most  Christian  Endeavor  unions.  Established  by  the 
aid  of  the  whole  union,  each  school  might  be  carried 
on  by  the  Endeavorers  of  a  single  denomination,  all 
the  societies  of  that  denomination  uniting,  so  that  there 
will  be  no  trouble  about  the  denominational  affiliation 
of  the  church  that  will  surely  in  time  spring  from  the 


112  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

school.  Officers  and  teachers  will  be  drawn  from 
the  young  people,  and  the  hand-to-hand  work  with  the 
neglected  families  of  the  city  that  will  result  from 
contact  with  their  children  will  prove  of  inestimable 
value,  not  only  to  the  city  but  to  the  Endea-vorers  as 
well. 

Union  Study  Classes  for  gaining  missionary  infor- 
mation have  been  carried  on  in  several  large  cities. 
The  large  numbers  thus  brought  together  furnish  an 
element  of  enthusiasm  wanting  in  smaller  classes,  and 
the  friction  of  mind  on  mind  is  worth  much.  Besides, 
banding  together  in  this  way,  the  Endeavorers  are 
enabled  to  obtain  the  finest  of  instructors.  One  union 
that  tried  this  plan  added  to  it  a  normal  class  -for  mis- 
sionary leaders. 

A  Circulating  Library  of  missionary  books  has  been 
established  by  at  least  one  union  and  found  to  be  a 
success.  The  union  buys  the  books  at  a  discount. 
They  are  sent  through  the  mail  at  a  slight  cost,  and 
thus  the  reading  of  the  very  best  missionary  books  is 
made  possible  for  all  the  missionary  workers  of  the 
union. 

An  Evangelistic  Campaign  waged  by  the  young  peo- 
ple alone  has  been  carried  on  with  much  profit  in 
some  cities.  Of  course  the  pastors  gave  cordial  assent 
—  that  is  true  of  all  these  accounts.  Committees 
were  appointed — executive,  devotional,  evangelistic, 
finance,  ushers,  music,  press,  canvassing.  The  best 
of  speakers  were  obtained,  but  the  young  people  did 
most  of  the  speaking  themselves,  after  the  Christian 
Endeavor  fashion.  Meetings  were  held  night  after 
night  in  the  separate  churches,  and  many  were  brought 
to  Christ. 


UNION    MISSIONARY    WORK.  II  3 

The  Gospel  Wagon  is  a  missionary  tool  that  young 
people  will  find  very  effective.  Indeed,  it  has  already 
been  used  to  the  greatest  advantage  by  groups  of 
Christian  Endeavor  societies.  The  wagon  itself,  with 
a  Bible-rest  for  the  speaker,  with  a  portable  organ, 
and  with  seats  for  a  goodly  company  of  singers,  can 
be  bought  for  a  sum  within  the  reach  of  most  unions. 
By  its  aid  the  distant  parts  of  the  city  can  be  reached, 
and  the  outlying  districts. 

Outdoor  Evangelistic  Services,  with  or  without  the 
aid  of  the  gospel  wagon,  though  they  fall  rather  heav- 
ily on  a  single  society,  yet  when  all  the  societies  in  the 
union  join  together,  they  can  be  maintained  without 
trouble.  Most  of  the  Endeavorers  will  sing,  but 
many  of  them  will  testify,  and  their  warm  words  for 
the  Master  will  often  produce  an  impression  that  the 
most  eloquent  preacher  could  hardly  make. 

In  Factories. —  From  outdoor  work  to  evangelistic 
work  indoors  is  a  short  step,  and  the  union  will  soon 
take  it.  The  Endeavorers,  wherever  they  have  tried 
it,  have  been  remarkably  successful  in  reaching  with 
the  gospel  companies  of  workers  in  the  mills,  the  fac- 
tories, the  great  stores,  the  street-car  employees,  men 
at  the  life-saving  stations,  men  on  the  wharves,  men 
in  the  engine  houses,  railroad  men,  the  "  shut-ins  "  of 
the  asylums,  hospitals,  almshouses,  and  prisons.  Just 
a  simple  Christian  Endeavor  prayer  meeting,  with 
hearty  singing  and  plain,  prompt,  glad  testimonies, 
such  as  Endeavorers  are  perfectly  familiar  with,  has 
proved  to  be  the  best  possible  way  into  the  hearts  of 
many  of  these  people  whom  the  church  too  often  neg- 
lects. 


114  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

Bicycle  Evangelists. —  It  has  been  found  possible  in 
some  localities  to  gather  a  strong  company  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  bicyclists,  who  — on  week-day  nights  — 
set  off  on  their  wheels  for  the  country  districts  in  need 
of  gospel  work,  and  hold  meetings  in  school  houses 
and  in  similar  places.  What  kind  of  "  club  outing  " 
is  equal  to  that  ? 

There  Are  Many  Other  Plans  which  the  Christian  En- 
deavor union  might  carry  out  for  the  benefit  of  the 
mission  cause.  It  might  own  and  lend  a  magic  lan- 
tern. Flower  missions  are  carried  on  by  many  city 
unions,  in  coYij  unction  with  country  unions.  Fresh-air 
work  and  country  week ;  street-car  rides  for  the  chil- 
dren of  the  poor  ;  boat  excursions,  also,  for  them ; 
carriage  rides  for  their  sick;  regular  meetings  in  coun- 
try school  houses  —  these  are  only  a  few  of  the  diver- 
sified missionary  undertakings  that  our  active  unions 
have  proved  possible  for  young  people. 

The  State  Unions  have,  as  yet,  developed  few  plans 
for  advance  missionary  work,  though  some  of  the 
State  unions  have  their  missionary  superintendents. 
Of  course  one  of  their  first  duties  is  to  urge  in  all  socie- 
ties the  appointment  of  missionary  committees  and  the 
holding  of  regular  missionary  meetings,  the  circulation 
of  missionary  literature,  and  the  formation  of  mission- 
ary study  classes.  Care  for  the  missionary  features 
of  the  annual  Christian  Endeavor  convention  also 
comes  within  the  province  of  the  missionary  superin- 
tendent. 

The  First  Work  of  a  county  missionary  superinten- 
dent, or  a  State  superintendent,  or  the  chairman  of  a 
union  missionary  committee,  is  to  ascertain,  if   it   is 


UNION    MISSIONARY    WORK.  II5 

not  known  already,  just  what  the  societies  are  already 
doing  for  missions.  Knowing  this,  he  can  go  on  to 
make  definite  recommendations.  A  circular  of  in- 
quiry, with  blanks  to  be  filled  out,  must  be  his  first 
official  document.  It  must  ask  what  is  the  annual 
gift  of  the  society  to  missions  ;  how  often  they  hold 
missionary  meetings ;  what  missionary  themes  are 
taken  up;  what  interest  they  have  in  special  fields,  if 
any  ;  whether  a  missionary  committee  is  in  existence; 
if  so,  the  name  of  the  chairman,  and  at  what  time  the 
new  officers  are  chosen  ;  the  name  of  the  pastor,  the 
president,  the  corresponding  secretary.  Most  of  this 
knowledge  is  necessary,  and  all  of  it  is  useful,  before 
wise  work  can  be  done  in  a  union  by  those  that  would 
stir  up  missionary  zeal  among  its  members. 

State  Missionary  Campaigns,  and  even  campaigns 
that  have  extended  through  several  States,  have  been 
carried  on  with  much  enthusiasm  and  lasting  gain  by 
the  Endeavorers.  The  State  officers  manage  the 
work.  They  correspond  with  the  societies,  and,  mak- 
ing the  condition  that  the  pastors  shall  first  approve 
everything,  they  arrange  for  such  mass  meetings  as 
are  described  in  the  chapter  on  that  subject.  The 
local  union  agrees  to  pay  its  share  of  the  speakers'  ex- 
penses. An  average  of  five  dollars  a  union  has  been 
found  to  be  sufficient,  as  the  speakers  give  their  time 
and  only  travelling  expenses  are  to  be  provided  for. 
The  best  missionary  orators  in  the  country  can  be  ob- 
tained for  these  campaigns,  because  the  audiences  of- 
fered are  so  large  and  so  numerous.  Night  after 
night  for  several  weeks  at  a  time,  the  speakers  move 
from  town  to  town,  finding  everywhere  that  the  En- 


Il6  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

deavorers  have  thoroughly  advertised  their  meetings, 
and  that  a  great  throng  of  interested  auditors  awaits 
them. 

Summer  Schools  of  missions  have  been  established 
for  some  time  in  at  least  one  State, —  California, — 
and  they  have  done  much  good.  The  best  of  instruc- 
tors are  obtained,  and  the  pleasures  of  a  delightful 
vacation  resort  are  combined  with  the  greater  joys  of 
missionary  study  classes  and  lectures.  As  all  States 
now  have  Student  Volunteers,  this  plan,  on  a  small 
and  modified  scale  possibly,  is  one  that  may  be  trans- 
planted from  California. 


MISSIONARY    MASS    MEETINGS.  I  I  / 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

MISSIONARY  MASS  MEETINGS. 

The  Value  of  Numbers.  —  The  phrase,  "poorly  at- 
tended," has  come  almost  to  belong  to  the  words, 
"missionary  meeting."  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  in 
our  Christian  Endeavor  societies  the  missionary  meet- 
ing is  usually  the  most  popular  of  all  the  meetings. 
This  will  be  true  everywhere  throughout  the  church  if 
popular  methods  are  used.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
put  together  half  a  dozen  "poorly  attended"  mission- 
ary meetings,  and  you  have  a  crowded  mass  meeting 
that  will  excite  the  curiosity  of  the  most  listless  and 
persuade  the  most  indifferent  that  there  must  be  some- 
thing in  missions  worth  his  attention.  Our  churches 
have  made  the  mistake  of  holding  missionary  meetings 
that  treat  only  denominational  topics,  thus  losing  the 
impetus  that  should  come  with  a  great,  world-wide 
movement  like  missions.  In  no  town  where  it  has 
been  tried  will  there  ever  afterward  be  a  doubt  as  to 
the  value  of  the  interdenominational  missionary  mass 
meeting. 

The  Speaker  may  be  a  returned  missionary.  If  he 
is  a  good  talker,  of  course  he  is  the  very  best  man  for 
your  purpose.  He  will  welcome  the  opportunity  of 
addressing  a  large  audience,  and  will  have  much  to 
say  that  is  just  as  helpful  to  other  denominations  as  to 
his  own.     Of  course  no  collection  will  be  taken,  but 


Il8  THE    MISSIONARY     MAxNUAL. 

the  meeting  will  have  its  effect  on  all  subsequent  mis- 
sionary collections.  If  no  returned  missionary  is 
available,  nevertheless  you  may  have  a  missionary 
mass  meeting,  using  some  eloquent  pastor  or  layman  ; 
or,  perhaps  better,  use  some  of  the  following  plans 
which  call  for  many  speakers. 

A  Pastors'  Meeting.  —  In  this  meeting  every  pastor 
in  town  is  to  have  a  part.  Get  a  bright  presiding  offi- 
cer who  knows  how  to  keep  the  speakers  strictly  on 
time,  while  keeping  them  and  every  one  else  in  a  good 
humor.  Divide  the  time  evenly  among  the  speakers. 
Get  each  man  to  choose  some  aspect  of  missions  on 
which  he  would  like  to  speak.  See  that  the  titles  are 
taking  ones,  and  advertise  them  all.  Never  mind  if 
two  do  choose  the  same  theme.  Each  will  have  so 
short  a  time  that  they  will  not  be  likely  to  overlap. 
And  with  such  a  galaxy  of  able  speakers,  you  will 
surely  have  a  crowded  audience  and  a  fine  meeting. 

A  Testimony  Meeting.  —  "Why  I  believe  in  mis- 
sions "  is  the  theme.  Choose  for  the  speakers  some 
bright  business  men,  a  few  attractive  women  speakers, 
a  teacher,  a  lawyer,  a  physician,  and  the  like,  covering 
as  wide  a  circle  of  occupations  as  you  can.  Get  the 
best  speaker  in  the  community  to  sum  up  the  argu- 
ment in  a  few  pointed  sentences  at  the  close. 

A  Bird's-Eye  View  Meeting.  —  Obtain  for  this  meet- 
ing as  many  representatives  of  different  denominations 
as  you  can,  and  let  each  come  prepared  to  speak  on 
the  most  important  features  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prises of  his  church.  Urge  every  speaker  to  stick 
strictly  to  his  text  —  not  to  make  a  plea  for  missions 
in  general,  but  to  confine  himself  to  telling  in  what 


MISSIONARY    MASS    MEETINGS.  II9 

points  his  denominational  missions  are  unique,  and 
what  conspicuous  triumphs  they  have  won  or  are  win- 
ning. A  large  map  would  be  of  much  service  in  this 
meeting. 

A  Generosity  Meeting.  — A  number  of  speakers  will 
make  a  plea  from  different  standpoints  for  more  gen- 
erous missionary  giving.  One  will  make  the  argument 
from  the  Bible,  one  from  the  needs  of  the  heathen,  one 
from  the  commercial  advantages  that  spring  from  mis- 
sions, one  from  the  heroic  lives  of  missionaries,  one 
from  the  spiritual  results  among  the  heathen,  and  so 
on.  Be  definite.  Push  tithe-giving.  Let  the  system  be 
strenuously  presented  by  some  strong  advocate  who 
will  invite  questions  about  it  from  any  one  in  the  room. 

A  Missionary  Jubilee. —  This  meeting  might  be  held 
at  the  end  of  the  year.  Representatives  of  the  differ- 
ent denominations  would  speak,  each  telling  of  the 
missionary  victories  during  the  year  on  the  mission 
fields  of  his  own  denomination.  The  meeting  would 
send  every  one  home  tingling  with  fresh  zeal  and  new 
courage. 

A  City-Missions  Meeting.  —  If  your  union  is  in  a 
large  city,  you  can  easily  obtain  addresses  of  thrilling 
interest  from  representatives  of  the  various  city  mis- 
sions—  the  rescue  missions  that  work  among  men  and 
those  that  deal  with  the  women,  the  missions  to  the 
sailors,  the  all-night  mission  work,  the  industrial 
homes,  the  children's  missions,  the  missions  to  the 
Chinese,  Italians,  Jews,  and  other  nationalities.  The 
meeting  will  arouse  the  Christians  to  labor  for  their 
own  city  as  no  recital  from  a  single  missionary,  repre- 
senting a  single  institution,  could. 


I20  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

"  For  Our  Country."  —  A  home-mission  meeting  is 
especially  suitable  for  a  patriotic  anniversary,  such  as 
the  Fourth  of  July  and  Memorial  Day.  If  you  cannot 
obtain  a  genuine  home  missionary,  get  a  number  of 
speakers  to  make  short  speeches  filled  with  anec- 
dotes, each  of  them  taking  up  one  phase  of  home- 
mission  work,  such  as  work  among  the  negroes  of  the 
South,  among  the  mountain  whites,  among  the 
Indians,  Chinese,  Mormons. 

A  Missionary-Committee  Meeting.  —  This  is  to  be 
an  evening  for  the  Christian  Endeavor  workers  espec- 
ially. The  members  of  the  missionary  committees  of 
the  union  will  themselves  fill  up  the  programme  with 
brief,  telling  speeches,  a  sort  of  sharp-shooting,  Chris- 
tion  Endeavor  fashion.  A  good  subject  for  the  even- 
ing might  be,  "  Missions  and  the  Young,"  with  such 
subdivisions  as  these :  "  What  Christian  Endeavor  is 
doing  for  missions."  "  Christian  Endeavor  in  mis- 
sionary lands."  "  The  condition  of  children  under 
heathen  rule."  "  Young  men  who  have  made  great 
missionaries."  "  Young  women  who  have  made 
great  missionaries."  "  The  young  people  in  the  native 
missionary  schools." 

A  Question-Box  Meeting  would  be  as  successful  in  a 
mass  meeting  as  it  is  in  the  individual  society,  only,  if 
you  try  it  for  a  mass  meeting,  you  must  be  certain  to 
provide  a  sufficient  supply  of  questions  against  the 
possibility  that  the  audience  may  not  choose  to  ask 
questions  themselves.  Get  at  least  three  well  informed 
persons,  who  are  good  speakers  and  missionary  enthu- 
siasts, to  answer  the  questions.  Let  one  take  one- 
third,  and  answer  them.     Then  have  music,  and  pass 


MISSIONARY    MASS    MEETINGS.  121 

on  to  the  next  third.  Then  have  a  series  of  sentence 
prayers  by  the  Endeavorers,  another  song,  and  the 
third  set  of  queries. 

An  Education  Meeting.  —  This  meeting  will  deal  with 
the  importance  of  missionary  information,  and  the 
delights  of  missionary  reading.  It  will  present  some 
of  the  most  fascinating  missionary  books,  and  will 
seek  to  start  in  many  different  centres  some  systematic 
plan  of  missionary  study.  Here  is  a  possible  pro- 
gramme: "  Outline  of  a  simple  missionary  biography." 
"  Some  fascinating  bits  from  missionary  lives." 
"Why  read  missionary  periodicals?"  "A  broadside 
of  specimen  missionary  facts."  This  broadside  is  a 
collection  of  the  most  interesting  of  missionary  facts 
and  anecdotes,  given  in  swift  succession  by  a  dozen 
young  people,  "A  plan  for  missionary  study  applica- 
ble to  any  church  or  society." 

The  Stereopticon  is  always  a  good  medium  for  mis- 
sionary information.  Missionaries  on  furlough  are 
coming  more  and  more  to  use  it  in  their  addresses. 
If  a  union  cannot  find  a  missianary  so  provided,  it 
may  purchase  or  make  a  set  of  slides,  and  g-et  a  mis- 
sionary' to  base  upon  them  a  delightful  talk, 

A  Day's  Programme.  —  Several  marvellous  cam- 
paigns for  the  arousing  of  missionary  enthusiasm  have 
been  conducted  by  the  Christian  Endeavorers  of  a 
number  of  States,  and  the  plan  that  works  best  is  in 
its  essentials  this  :  The  pastors  all  preach  missionary 
sermons  in  the  morning,  referring  to  the  combing  meet- 
ing. In  the  afternoon  there  is  held  in  a  central  place 
a  conference  of  all  the  missionary  workers  in  townv 
young  and  old.     The  various  plans  proposed  in  the 


122  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

chapter  on  missionary  conferences  may  here  be  used. 
In  the  evening  comes  the  mass  meeting,  in  which  all 
the  churches  unite. 


MISSIONARY    CONFERENCES.  123 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES. 

A  Most  Useful  Method.  —  The  missionary  confer- 
ence, though  a  local  union  method  of  work,  is  of  such 
importance  as  to  warrant  a  chapter  by  itself.  These  _ 
committee  conferences  illustrate  one  of  the  chief  ad- 
vantages of  our  interdenominational  system.  They 
focus  upon  each  society  the  enthusiasm  and  practical 
discoveries  of  all  societies  in  the  city  or  town.  The 
missionary  conference  is  made  up  of  all  the  mission- 
ary societies  in  the  union,  or,  if  the  union  is  too  large 
for  that,  then  of  all  societies  in  a  certain  district  of 
the  city.  In  order  to  give  the  zest  of  difficulty,  ad- 
mission to  the  conference  should  be  by  ticket  only, 
and  each  committeeman  should  be  given  a  few 
tickets  to  hand  to  his  friends  who  might  like  to  be 
present.  We  must  be  training  material  for  the  mis- 
sionary committees  in  the  future. 

The  Best  Time  for  the  conference  is  in  the  fall,  at 
the  opening  of  a  new  season  of  work.  If  a  second 
conference  is  held  during  the  year,  let  it  be  in  the 
spring,  to  gather  up  the  methods  that  have  proved 
most  useful. 

A  Roll-Call  of  the  societies  may  well  stand  at  the 
opening  of  the  conference.  This  will  stimulate  attend- 
ance, especially  if  the  result  is  reported  at  the  next 
union  meeting.  Do  not  have  it  a  mere  formal  roll- 
call,  but  after  the  chairman  of  each  committee  has 


124  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

told  how  many  members  of  his  committee  are  present, 
have  him  give  one  plan  for  a  missionary  meeting  on 
China,  for  instance,  varying  the  subject  of  this  sym- 
posium with  each  meeting. 

The  Programme  of  the  conference  is  prepared  by 
the  union  missionary  committee,  or,  if  you  have  no 
such  committee,  then  by  the  union  committee  that 
has  charge  of  the  conferences  in  general.  It  should 
always  contain  two  factors  :  papers  or  addresses  care- 
fully thought  out  beforehand,  and  informal  discussions 
and  conversations. 

The  Topics  to  be  Treated  are  at  least  as  numerous 
as  the  paragraphs  of  this  book.  Here  are  only  a  ievu 
of  the  most  important  themes  which  may  be  dis- 
cussed, first  in  formal  essays  and  then  in  brisk 
question  and  answer:  "How  to  present  missionary 
statistics  in  the  most  attractive  way."  "  How  to  get 
the  Endeavorers  to  read  missionary  books."  "  How 
to  increase  the  circulation  of  missionary  periodicals." 
"  The  best  way  of  presenting  missionary  biographies  in 
our  meetings."  "  Utilizing  letters  from  missionaries." 
"  Do  we  give  liberally  enough  ?  How  can  we  increase 
the  per  cent  of  our  giving.  ?  "  "  What  is  the  best  mis- 
sionary meeting  you  have  held  in  your  society  ?  "  Let 
it  be  understood  that  every  member  of  the  conference 
is  expected  to  come  with  something  to  say  on  every 
topic.  Announce  the  subjects  in  the  invitations  to 
the  conference..  In  appointing  the  speakers  that  are 
to  lead  off  in  the  discussion,  subdivide  the  topics  as 
much  as  possible,  so  as  to  give  as  many  as  you  can 
some  definite  work  to  do,  and  thus  make  sure  of  their 
attendance. 


MISSIONARY    CONFERENCES.  I  25 

An  Exhibit  should  be  made  at  the  missionary  con- 
ference of  all  new  matter  for  illustrating  missionary 
meetings  that  may  have  been  added  to  the  missionary 
museum  of  the  union,  or,  if  you  have  no  such  institu- 
tion, let  each  society  bring  whatever  objects  have 
contributed  to  the  interest  of  its  recent  missionary 
meetings  —  any  bright  diagram  or  chart,  or  object 
from  a  missionary  land.  It  would  be  a  good  plan  to 
have  read  before  the  conference  the  best  short  paper 
presented  anywhere  at  a  recent  missionary  meeting, 
if  you  can  get  hold  of  it. 

The  Conversational  Spirit  must  be  gained  for  the 
conference,  if  you  want  it  to  be  successful.  Let  the 
leader  set  the  example  by  boldly  interrupting  any 
speaker  or  essayist  with  questions  as  they  occur  to 
him.  A  missionary  question-box  or  answer-box  will 
add  to  this  feeling  of  informality.  Make  the  mission- 
ary conference  in  reality  what  it  is  in  theory,  an  earnest, 
friendly  talk  among  the  faithful  servants  of  the  King 
on  the  absorbing  question  of  how  they  can  best  ad- 
vance the  King's  business. 


126  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

MISSIONS  IN  CONVENTIONS. 

A  Missionary  Address  of  some  kind  should  be  part 
of  practically  every  religious  gathering  of  Christian 
Endeavorers.  This  is  our  one  great  theme,  as  it  is  the 
one  great  theme  of  the  church  of  which  the  society  is 
a  constituent  part.  Assign  the  best  speakers  to  this 
topic.  Give  them  the  best  place  on  the  programme. 
See  that  the  wording  of  their  subjects  is  bright  and 
"fetching." 

The  Missionaries  Themselves  should  be  heard  from, 
if  any  are  present.  Conventions  that  are  favored 
with  the  attendance  of  many  of  these  Christian  heroes 
should  set  apart  a  special  time  for  introducing  them 
to  the  audience.  Each  will  be  received  with  rising 
and  a  salute,  and  then,  if  there  is  time,  will  speak 
briefly.  "Why  I  became  a  missionary,"  would  be  an 
inspiring  symposium  in  which  not  only  the  mission- 
aries might  take  part  but  also  whatever  Student  Vol- 
unteers are  present. 

A  Model  Missionary  Meeting  would  form  an  attrac- 
tive portion  of  the  programme.  Let  it  be  given  by 
the  society  in  the  convention's  constituency  that  gets 
up  the  most  wide-awake  missionary  meetings.  A 
stereopticon  lecture  on  missions,  and  a  missionary  ex- 
ercise by  the  Juniors,  may  be  obtained.  An  hour 
may  be  given  up  to  a  memorial  meeting  for  the  great 


MISSIONS    IN    CONVENTIONS.  12/ 

missionaries  of  all  denominations  that  have  died  dar- 
ing the  year,  the  work  of  each  to  be  reviewed  b}'' 
some  one  in  especial  sympathy  with  it.  Many  ideas 
described  in  the  chapters  on.  missionary  meetings, 
mass  meetings,  and  union  missionary  work,  may  be 
applied  also  to  State  conventions. 

Open  Parliaments  on  missions  will  arouse  mission- 
ary zeal  as  few  other  exercises,  if  they  are  led  with 
force  and  discretion.  The  speaker  should  devote 
himself  not  to  showing  off,  but  to  drawing  out.  He 
should  propound  question  after  question,  such  as: 
"  What  was  your  best  missionary  meeting?  "  "  How 
do  you  increase  the  gifts  of  your  members?  "  "  Why 
do  you  believe  in  missions?"  "What  systematic 
studying  for  missions  does  your  society  do  ? "  "  How 
do  you  keep  before  the  society  the  work  of  the 
boards?"  He  will  call  for  votes:  "How  many  of 
you  belong  to  societies  that  have  missionary  commit- 
tees? that  have  regular  missionary  meetings?  four 
times  a  year?  six  times?  eight  times?  How  many  of 
you  have  read  ten  missionary  books  ?  How  many 
subscribe  to  a  missionary  magazine?  How  many  of 
you  believe  in  paying  to  the  Lord's  work  at  least  a 
tenth  of  your  income?  How  many  of  you  belong  to 
societies  that  contribute  enough  to  their  denomina- 
tional boards  for  the  support  of  a  single  missionary?'' 
A  special  conference  of  missionary  committees  held 
later  in  the  convention  will  carry  on  with  greater  ful- 
ness the  discussions  suggested  by  this  open  par- 
liament. 

Objections  to  Missions  may  be  presented  concisely 
by   one   speaker    (who   will    be.  of  course,  a  strong 


128  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

friend  of  missions)  and  then  answered  by  another 
speaker.  The  most  effective  way  of  giving  this  is 
in  a  dialogue,  the  first  speaker  bringing  forward  an 
objection  which  is  .immediately  answered  by  the 
second. 

A  Missionary  Table  should  be  a  feature  of  every 
convention,  and  if  the  convention  is  large,  it  may  be- 
come a  missionary  room,  where  may  be  displayed  a 
sample  missionary  museum,  together  with  specimen 
numbers  of  all  the  denominational  and  general  mis- 
sionary papers  and  magazines.  Subscriptions  should 
be  received  for  them.  All  kinds  of  devices  for  add- 
ing to  the  interest  of  missionary  meetings  should  be 
shown. 

Blanks  May  Be  Circulated  for  the  signature  of  the 
Endeavorers,  that  the  advice  of  the  speakers  may  be- 
come fixed  in  their  purposes.  One  of  these  blanks 
should  be  an  application  for  membership  in  the  Tenth 
Legion.  These  blanks  are  to  be  obtained,  free,  from 
Secretary  John  Willis  Baer,  Tremont  Temple,  Bos- 
ton. The  other  blank  should  be  what  has  come  to  be 
known  as  a  "policy  blank."  It  is  a  printed  form, 
varying  according  to  the  local  needs,  and  is  an  agree- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  Endeavorers  to  hold  their  so- 
cieties as  far  as  possible  to  a  certain  high  standard  of 
missionary  work,  such  as  six  missionary  meetings  a 
year,  a  certain  per  cent  of  missionary  giving,  mission- 
ary study  classes,  missionary  libraries,  and  the  like. 

A  Roll  of  Honor  is  a  useful  method  of  exciting  in- 
terest in  missions.  Upon  it  are  placed  the  names  of 
all  societies  that  have  given  during  the  year  at  least 
ten  dollars  to  their  denominational  missionary  work. 


MISSIONS    IN    CONVENTIONS.  1 29 

There  will  be  many  feet  of  this  missionary  roll,  and 
as  it  is  unrolled  by  an  ardent  speaker  and  draped 
around  the  room,  a  scene  of  enthusiasm  is  sure  to 
follow. 


130  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 
MISSIONARY  SPURS. 

This  chapter  is  intended  to  contain  a  number  of 
missionary  methods,  well  worth  describing,  that  seem 
to  have  no  suitable  place  in  any  preceding  chapter. 

The  Missionary  Information  Committee,  like  the  ordi- 
nary ''information  committee"  of  any  Christian  En- 
deavor society,  will  report  at  the  opening  of  every 
meeting.  Its  report  will  consist  of  brief,  "catchy" 
items  of  recent  missionary  news.  The  report  may  be 
given  by  a  single  member  of  the  committee,  or  by  all 
the  members,  each  of  them  contributing  an  item  in 
swift  succession. 

The  Use  of  Tracts  is  commended  to  our  societies  as 
a  sure  method  of  reaching  many  souls.  Of  course  the 
tracts  should  be  wisely  chosen,  should  be  absolutely 
free  from  cant,  manly  and  sincere  in  their  tone. 
Some  Endeavorers  put  them  to  double  use  by  print- 
ing the  church  notices  on  the  back,  then  distributing 
them  as  invitations  from  house  to  house. 

A  Society  Bookcase  for  holding  the  missionary  li- 
brary may  be  made  to  do  double  duty.  It  can  be 
arranged  with  a  desk  on  which  the  society  secretary 
may  write,  and  with  compartments  in  which  may  be 
kept  pledge  cards,  topic  cards,  and  the  records. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  Day  Offerings  should  always 
be  for  the  cause  of   denominational  missions.      No 


MISSIONARY     SPL'RS.  I3I 

Other  cause  is  so  appropriate  to  the  day.  Advertise 
the  matter  well  beforehand.  Urge  the  gift  as  a  thank 
offering  for  the  blessings  of  Christian  Endeavor.  Set 
apart  the  week  before  Christian  Endeavor  Day  as  a 
special  week  of  self-denial,  in  order  that  the  gifts  may 
be  worthy  of  the  society  and  of  the  cause.  Divide 
the  sum  received  equally  between  your  home  and 
foreign  missionary  boards,  and  when  the  money  is 
sent  in  say  that  it  is  the  Christian  Endeavor  Day 
offering  of  your  society. 

Essays  on  Missionary  Subjects  may  be  called  for  at^ 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  the  subjects  to  require  some 
considerable  study  and  the  papers  to  be  of  some  length 
and  importance.  Get  the  pastt>r  or  some  prominent 
member  of  the  church  to  offer  a  prize  for  the  best 
essay,  choose  a  representative  committee  to  act  as 
judges,  and  appoint  an  evening  when  all  the  essays 
may  be  read  and  a  decision  rendered. 

Visits  to  City  Missions  may  be  made  regularly  by 
members  of  the  society  who  will  be  sent  out  two  by 
two  for  this  purpose.  Such  visits,  of  course,  will  not 
take  the  place  of  visits  by  the  society  in  a  body,  but 
will  be  more  frequent.  At  the  next  meeting  each  pair 
of  delegates  will  report  what  they  have  seen  and 
heard.  As  all  missions  will  be  visited  in  turn,  this 
will  be  quite  an  education  in  mission  work,  both  for 
those  that  go  and  for  those  that  stay. 

A  Missionary  Week.  —  This  will  not  be  impossible 
if  you  have  worked  up  well  the  missionary  zeal  of  the 
young  people.  Gain  the  co-operation  of  all  other 
missionary  organizations  in  the  church.  Arrange  for 
an   exhibition  of   whatever  missionary  material   you 


132  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

may  have  —  curios,  diagrams,  and  the  like.  In  the 
evenings  hold  meetings,  considering  each  evening 
some  one  phase  of  the  multiform  subject. 

A  Hectograph  will  be  the  missionary  committee's 
right  hand  man.  Home-made  hectographs  do  good 
work,  or,  you  can  buy  one  at  slight  cost.  The  hecto- 
graph can  be  used  for  copying  programmes,  for  ad- 
vertising purposes,  for  making  duplicate  maps,  charts, 
copies  of  missionary  exercises,  and  for  divers  other 
purposes. 

Missionary  Note-Books  may  be  bought  and  given  to 
every  Endeavorer  with  the  request  that  they  be  car- 
ried in  the  pocket,  and  that  a  watch  be  kept  for  what- 
ever facts  and  interesting  anecdotes  may  be  found 
relating  to  missions.  They  may  also  be  used  to  record 
thoughts  on  missionary  topics,  Bible  verses*relating  to 
missions,  and  many  other  matters  useful  in  missionary 
meetings.  They  may  serve  also  as  account  books  for 
missionary  gifts. 

Missionary  Circles.  —  This  is  an  easy  and  effective 
mode  of  keeping  up  the  interest  in  missions.  Divide 
the  society  into  groups,  each  with  a  chairman,  and  as- 
sign each  group  to  some  country.  Expect  a  report 
from  each  group  once  every  three  weeks.  These 
reports  will  contain  only  two  or  three  brief 
items,  so  that  several  reports  can  be  read  in  five 
minutes. 

Papers  for  Missionaries.  —  In  their  isolated  posts  the 
missionaries  find  the  weekly  visits  of  a  religious  paper 
a  comfort  and  assistance  such  as  we  can  hardly 
imagine.  No  gift  of  the  same  cost  is  equal  in  real 
value   for  the   missionary  to  the  gift   of   a   religious 


MISSIONARY    SPURS.  133 

journal.  All  papers  make  special  reductions  in  price 
when  the  subscription  is  for  this  purpose. 

Gift  Boxes.  —  Of  course  our  societies  know  about 
missionary  '"barrels,"  and  have  packed,  or  helped  to 
pack,  many  of  them.  Without  this  practical  aid  the 
missionary  cause  would  now  be  far  less  advanced  than 
it  is.  But  how  many  hav^e  sent  out  missionary  gift 
boxes  ?  These  are  to  contain  not  so  much  what  is 
needed  as  what  will  be  enjoyed  —  little  articles  of 
luxury  such  as  a  missionary  cannot  afford.  Toys  for 
the  children  will  go  into  these  boxes,  "patterns"  of 
prett>^  dresses,  books  of  poems  and  stories,  and  —  to 
express  the  idea  in  a  single  word  —  candy  ! 

The  Missionary  Bible.  —  The  missionary  committee 
will  do  much  toward  training  the  societ}^  in  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  if  they  can  persuade  the  members  to 
commit  to  memory  Bible  verses  bearing  on  missions. 
Select  a  number  —  say  twelve  —  and  give  the  list  to 
all  the  members,  with  the  request  that  the  verses  be 
committed  to  memory  before  the  next  missionary 
meeting.  At  that  meeting  ask  all  to  rise  that  can 
recite  them,  and  then  choose  some  one  to  prove  it! 

Ask  the  Missionary  Boards  what  work  they  have  for 
you  to  do.  Most  missionary  boards  now  recognize 
the  young  people's  societies  as  valuable  aids.  Some 
have  special  secretaries  for  young  people's  work. 
Almost  all  of  them  get  out  leaflets  of  information 
intended  for  young  people.  If  you  write  directly  to 
headquarters,  you  wall  cheer  them  there  and  you  will 
get  the  best  of  guidance. 

The  Week  of  Prayer  was  originally  established  as  a 
world-wide  concert  of  prayer  for  missions.     It  has  not 


134  THE    MISSIONARY    MANUAL. 

departed  so  far  from  its  first  purpose  that  it  will  not 
be  appropriate  for  our  missionary  committees  to  make 
special  effort  to  win  the  young  people's  interest  in  it. 
Get  them  to  attend  in  a  body  and  to  add  to  the  meet- 
ing the  enthusiasm  of  a  Christian  Endeavor  gathering, 
speaking  promptly  when  opportunity  is  given  for  tes- 
timony or  prayer. 

A  Win-One  Band  is  a  simple  "  wheel  within  a  wheel," 
and  the  possibilities  for  good  are  so  great  that  all  mis- 
sionary committees  would  do  well  to  consider  establish- 
ing one  in  their  society.  The  band  consists  of  those 
that  agree,  God  helping  them,  to  win  one  soul  to 
Christ  during  the  year. 


FUEL  FOR  MISSIONARY  FIRES. 

By  BELLE   M.  BRAIN. 


'^  Where  no  wood  is,  there  the  fire  goeth  out.'* 


This  is  a  cloth-bound  book  packed  full  of  practical 
plans  for  Missionary  Committees.  By  following  the 
suggested  plans  or  programmes  given  in  this  book, 
your  missionary  meetings  will  be  the  brightest  that 
you  ever  held.  The  best  book  of  this  nature  ever 
published,  Every  thing  tried  and  proved.  Try  it! 
Price,  35  cents. 


"  The  book  is  bright,  pithy,  sententious  throughout.  The  com- 
mittee work  is  not  done  for  you,  but  novel  programmes  and  plans 
vivaciously  tell  you  how  to  do  it.  There  is  a  great  variety.  The  book 
merits  unstinted  praise." —  The  Standard. 

"The  practical  missionary  worker,  whatever  her  position  and  duties, 
may  well  exclaim, '  Eureka  ! '  when  she  realizes  what  is  in  this  little  book. 
It  contains  not  only  so-called  '  fuel,'  but  '  kindlings  '  ;  for  its  hints  and 
suggestions  are  so  fine  and  easily  utilized  that  the  least  spark  of  mis- 
sionary enthusiasm  must  serve  to  ignite  them."  —  Heathen  Woma?i's 
Friend. 

"*rhis  little  book  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  missionary  committee 
of  every  young  people's  society.  It  is  just  what  is  needed  to  guide 
them  in  conducting  missionary  meetings  and  ways  of  working."  — 
Canada  (M.  E .)  Review. 


UNITED    SOCIETY   OF   CHRISTIAN   ENDEAVOR, 
Tremont  Temple,  Boston.  155  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 


THE  CONQUEST  MISSIONARY  LIBRARY. 

TEN    VOLUMES    FOR   $5.00. 


This  library  contains  ten  of  the  latest  and  best  missionary  books  that 
are  published.  The  boolis  are  exceptionally  well  illustrated,  there  being 
about  loo  full-page  illustrations,  besides  numerous  smaller  ones.  The 
books  are  uniform  in  size  and  binding.  The  library  may  be  secured 
from  either  our  Boston  or  Chicago  office.  The  price  is  only  $5.00.  It 
is  by  far  the  best  library  for  the  price  that  has  ever  been  published. 
The  ten  books  in  the  library  are  as  follows :  — 

Chinese  Characteristics.  With  16  full-page  illustrations  and  index. 
By  Rev.  A.  H.  Smith,  D.D,,  for  22  years  a  missionary  in  China.  6th 
thousand.     Price,  Ji. 25. 

"  The  best  book  on  the  Chinese  people." —  The  Examiner. 

"  A  completely  trustworthy  study.  '  —  T/te  Advance. 

The  Gist  of  Japan.  The  Islands,  their  People  and  Missions.  By 
Rev.  R.  H.  Peery,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  of  the  Lutheran  Mission,  Saga. 
Illustrated.     Price,  $1.25. 

Interesting,  reliable,  and  instructive. 

From  Far  Formosa.  The  Island,  its  People  and  Missions.  By 
Rev.  C.  L.  MacKay,  D.D.,  for  23  years  a  Missionary  on  the  island. 
Edited  by  Rev.  J.  A.  MacDonald.  With  4  Maps,  16  Illustrations,  and 
an  Index.     5th  thousand.     Price,  Ji. 25, 

"  Undoubtedly  the  man  who  knows  most  about   Formosa." —/"A* 

Review  of  Reviews. 

Our  Sisters  in  India.  By  Rev.  E.  Storrow.  Illustrated.  i2mo, 
cloth,  #1.25. 

Mr.  Storrow,  the  veteran  Indian  missionary,  brings  together  in  this 
volume  a  great  mass  of  information  about  the  degradation  and 
the  sufferings  of  Indian  women. 

In  Afric'S  Forest  and  Jungle.  By  Rev.  R.  H.  Stone.  Illustrated. 
i2mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

It  is  an  unusually  bright  series  of  sketches  by  a  missionary  who 
resided  for  several  years  in  a  large  native  village  in  West  Africa. 


THE  CONQUEST  niSSIONARY  LIBRARY. 

(Continued.) 

The  Transformation  of  Hawaii:  How  American  Missionaries  gave 
a  Christian  Nation  to  the  World.  Told  for  Young  People  by  Belle  M 
Brain,  author  of  "  Fuel  for  Missionary  Fires."  izmo,  cloth,  illustrated, 
^i.oo. 

Fellow  Travelers.  Impressions  of  Men,  Things,  and  Events. 
By  Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark.  Illustrated  from  photographs.  Price, $1.25. 
"  This  fascinating  record  of  his  toils  and  observations  in  Europe, 
India,  and  Africa  is  a  real  contribution  to  an  appreciative  knowl- 
edge of  peoples,  and  hence  is  a  powerful  preacher  of  peace  and 
good  will  among  m&n.''— John  Henry  Baj-roii's. 

Nineteen  Centuries  of  Missions.     By  Mrs.  Wm.  W.  Scudder. 
This  is  a  complete  text  book  and  history  of  missions  from  the  time 
of  the  Apostolic  Church  to  the  present  day.     It  is  just  what  young 
people  interested  in  missions  have  long  been  looking  for. 

On  the  Indian  Trail,  and  Other  Stories  of  Missionary  Work  among 
the  Cree  and  Saulteaux  Indians.  By  Egerton  R.  Young.  Illustrated 
by  J.  E.  Laughlin.     izmo,  cloth,  %\.oz. 

Mr.  Young  is  well-known  to  readers  of  all  ages  as  the  author  of 
"By  Canoe  and  Dog  Train,"  "  Tliiee  Boys  in  the  Wild  North 
Land,"  and  other  very  popular  books  describing  life  and  adventure 
in  the  great  Northwest.  The  stories  in  this  new  hook  tell  of  some 
very  exciting  incidents  in  his  career,  and  describe  phases  of  life 
amgng  the  American  Indians  which  are  fast  becoming  tilings  of  the 
past.  " 

Korean  Sketches.  By  Rev.  James  S.  Gale.  A  Missionary's  Ob- 
servations in  the  Hermit  Nation.  Fully  illustrated.  i2mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 
"  He  writes  easily  and  picturesquely  of  the  peoples  and  their  cus- 
toms ;  of  exciting  and  amusing  travel  adventures  ;  and  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  manufactures,  commerce,  agiiculture,  education,  and 
religion  in  Korea.  His  book  is  thoroughly  readable.  .4s  a  clear 
presentation  of  native  life  it  is  the  best  extant  book  on  Korea." 
—Outlook. 


Remember,  Ten  Volumes  for  $5.00. 


UNITED    SOCIETY   OF   CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR, 
Tremont  Temple,  Boston.  155  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 


Student  Missionary  Campaign  Library* 


16  Volumes  for  $10.00. 


This  library  contains  sixteen  of  the  most  recent 
missionary  books.  They  are  all  of  acknowledged 
worth.  The  set  cannot  be  broken.  It  is  shipped 
from  Chicago  only,  and  at  purchaser's  expense.  Price, 
only  $10.00.     The  sixteen  volumes  are  as  follows  :  — 

1.  Missionary  Expansion  Since  the  Reformation.  By  Rev.  J. 
A.  Qraham,  M.A.     Price,  $1.25. 

2.  A  Mexican  Ranch.  By  Mrs.  Janie  Prichard  Duggan.  Price, 
51.25. 

3.  The  Growth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  By  Rev.  Sidney 
L.  Gulick.     Price,  ^1.50. 

4.  Light  in  the  East.      By  Bishop  Thoburn.     Price,  85  cents. 

5.  The  Chinese  Slave  Girl.  A  story  of  woman's  life  in  China. 
By  Rev.  J.  A.  Davis.     Price,  75  cents. 

6.  The  Official  Report  of  the  Third  International  Convention 
of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign  Missions,  Cleve- 
land, 1898.     Price,  1.50. 

7.  TheStory  of  JohnG.  Paton.   Told  for  young  folks.   Price,  $1.50. 

8.  Persian  Life  and  Customs.  By  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Wilson,  M.A. 
Price,  $1.25. 

9.  In  the  Tiger  Jungle.  By  Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain,  M.D. 
Price,  )?i.oo. 

10.  The  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone.  By  W.  Garden 
Blaikie,  D.  D.     Price,  #1.50. 

11.  The  Life  of  John  Kenneth  Mackenzie.  By  Mrs.  Mary  F. 
Bryson.     Price,  1.50. 

12.  James  Gilmour,  of  Mongolia.  By  Richard  Lovett,  M.A. 
Price,  )fi.75. 

13.  Nemorama,  TheNautchnee.  By  Rev.  Edwin  MacMinn.  Price, 
90  cents. 

14.  The  Story  of  the  Life  of  Mackay ,  of  Uganda.  By  his  sister. 
Price,  $1.50. 

15.  Oowikapun.     By  Egerton  Ryerson  Young.     Price,  jFi. 00. 

r6.   HuYongMi.      Autobiography  of  Hii  Yong  Mi.     Price,  $1.00. 


UNITED    SOCIETY   OF    CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR, 
Tremont  Temple,  Boston.  155  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 


LEAFLETS  FOR  MISSIONARY  COMMIHEES. 


We   publish    a  number  of  leaflets  for   Missionary 
Committees,  among  which  are  the  following:  — 


A  Live  Missionary  Committee.  Its  object,  organization,  and 
practical  methods  of  work.  By  Frances  B.  Patterson.  Price,  three 
cents  each;  §2.00  per  hundred. 

The  Missionary  Committee  at  Work.  By  W.  Henry  Grant. 
Giving  suggestions  for  meetings,  subjects,  and  programmes.  Price, 
thr^e  cents  each;  S2.00  per  hundred. 

Work  for  the  Missionary  Committee.  By  Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark. 
Price,  two  cents  each  ;  $1.00  per  hundred. 

Suggestions  for  the  Missionary  Committee.  Neatly  printed 
cards.     Price,  three  cents  each;  set  of  five,  ten  cents. 

A  Missionary's  Visit.  A  dialogue.  By  Mrs.  J.  L.  Hill.  Price, 
three  cents  each;  $2.00  per  hundred. 

Christian  Endeavor  and  Missions.  By  V.  F.  P.  Price,  three  cents 
each;  ;?i.5o  per  hundred. 

Maps  and  Money.  By  V.  F.  P.  Price,  three  cents  each;  $2.00  per 
hundred. 

Money  and  the  Kingdom.  By  Rev.  Josiah  Strong,  D.  D.  This  is 
Chapter  15  of  "  Our  Country,"  and  is  of  especial  interest  to  all  tithe- 
givers.     Price,  two  cents  each;  $1.60  per  hundred. 

The  Missionary  Prayer  Circle.  Prepared  by  the  Yale  Missionary 
Band.  .Subjects  for  prayer  in  young  people's  societies  and  in  private 
devotions,  covering  a  period  of  twenty-six  weeks.  Price,  five  cents  a 
dozen. 

Missionary  Reading  Circle  Slips.  Pledges  to  be  used  in  securing 
readers  of  missionary  books.     Twenty  cents  per  hundred. 

The  Pocketbook-Opener.  By  Rev.  J.  F.  Cowan,  D.  D.  Interest- 
ing and  profitable,  as  illustrating  the  different  principles  of  giving. 
This  is  printed  in  imitation  of  an  alligator  leather  pocketbook.  Fifty 
cents  per  hundred. 

Missionary  Committee  Report  Blanks.  The  book  contains  a 
sufHcient  number  of  blank  reports  to  last  two  years.  Price,  including 
postage,  twenty-nine  cents. 


UNITED   SOCIETY  OF   CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR,  ' 
Tremont  Temple  Boston.  155  La  Salle  St..  Chicag<>. 


EVENINGS  WITH    MISSIONS. 


There  is  no  excuse  for  a  dull  missionary  meeting,  if  the  missionary 
committee  will  use  the  material  given  in  our  several  missionary  book- 
lets and  exercises.  Our  series  of  "  Evenings  with  Missions"  covers 
the  whole  field  of  home  missions  and  several  foreign  fields.  Each 
booklet  contains  all  the  information  necessary  for  a  most  interesting 
and  instructive  meeting,  together  with  a  complete  suggested  pro- 
gramme. 

Price,  10  cents  each. 

No.  I.  Mexico.  Justly  called  "  the  land  of  flowers,"  and  our  next- 
door  neighbor  ;  yet  how  little  we  know  about  it  1 

No.  2.  The  Indians.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  in  the  United 
States  who  have  been  driven  from  their  old  hunting-grounds. 
What  are  we  doing  for  them  ? 

No.  3.  A  Trip  to  Alaska.  While  the  interest  in  Alaska  gold  is  so 
intense,  what  more  interesting  subject  for  a  missionary  meeting 
tlian  tliis  ? 

No.  4.  The  Freed  People.  Freed  in  name,  but  imprisoned  in  ignor 
ance.     Learn  wliat  is  being  done  for  them. 

No.  5.  The  Chinese  in  America.  Is  it  right  to  sing  — 
"  Peace  on  earth,  good  will  "  — if  you  please  — 
"  To  all  nations  and  peoples  "  —  except  the  Chinese  ? 

No.  6.  Immigration  and  Evangelization  of  the  Great  West.  A 
very  instructive  and  interesting  exercise  descriptive  of  the  emigrant 
from  his  landing  at  Castle  Garden  to  his  settlement  in  the  Great 
West. 

No.  7.     Romanism  in  America.      Contrasting  the  Roman  Catholic 

restrictive  policy  with  the  American  spirit  of  independence  and 
freedom. 

No.  8.  The  Mormons.  Do  you  really  know  much  about  this  cancer 
which  is  at  tlie  very  heart  of  our  civilization  ? 

No.  9.  General  Survey  of  the  Home  Field.  A  very  instructive 
evening  may  be  spent  with  this  subject,  showing  the  providence 
of  God  in  the  settlement  of  our  country. 

No.  10.  India.  )  These  subjects  are  always  interesting.  The  leaflets 
No.  II.  Africa.  /  give  plenty  of  material  for  most  excellent  pro- 
No.  12.     China.  )  grammes.     They  describe  the  manners  and  customs 

of  the  people,  the  honors  of  heathenism,  and  the  splendid  work 

of  our  devoted  missionaries. 


UNITED  SOCIETY  OF  CHRISTIAN   ENDEAVOR, 
TuBMONT  Temple,  Boston.  155  La  Salle  St.,  ChicXoo. 


MISSIONARY    EXERCISES. 

These  exercises  are  very  complete,  and  are  com- 
piled especially  to  awaken  interest  in  the  foreign  field. 
They  contain  the  entire  programme,  including  hymns 
and  Scripture  readings.  A  separate  sheet  comes  with 
Numbers  3,  4,  5,  and  6  for  the  exclusive  use  of  leader 
and  speakers. 

No.  I.    A  War  Meeting. 

No.  2.    The  Whole  Wide  World  for  Jesus. 

No.  3.    Lessons  from  the  Lives  of  Great  Missionaries. 

No.  4.    Saved  to  Serve. 

No.  5.    The  Church  and  World-Wide  Missions. 

No.  6.    The  Ultimate  Triumph  of  World-Wide  Missions. 
Price,  sample  copy  complete,  5  cents;    twenty-five 
copies,  50"^  cents ;  fifty  copies,  75  cents ;  one  hundred 
copies,  $1.50.     Two  copies  of  speaker's  part  free  with 
each  quantity  order. 


Portfolio  of  Missionary  Programmes.  By  S.  L.  Mer- 
shon.  This  booklet  contains  twenty  complete  pro- 
grammes for  missionary  meetings,  together  with  sug- 
gested thoughts  on  how  to  have  the  most  interesting 
meetings.     Price.  10  cents. 


MISSIONARY    COMMITTEE   HELPS, 

We  also  publish  a  large  number  of  helps  for  the 
Missionary  Committee,  including  leaflets  upon  the 
work  of  the  committee,  report-blanks,  collection-envel- 
opes and  boxes,  maps,  etc. 


UNITED   SOCIETY   OF   CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR, 
Trhmont  Temple,  Boston.  155  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago. 


Princeton   Theological  Seminary-Speer 


1    1012  01115  3345 


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